Artist

Interpol

NYC rock band

New York City, United States • Formed 1997

Interpol is a music group from New York City, United States, active since 1997. Their discography on Gatefold includes 24 records.

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Albums tracked

326

In collections

1997

Since

Biography

Interpol is an American post-punk band formed in Manhattan, New York, in 1997. They played an important part in the post-punk revival of the 2000s. The band consists of Paul Banks (vocals and guitar), Sam Fogarino (drums), and Daniel Kessler (guitar and backing vocals). Longtime touring musicians Brandon Curtis (keyboards, backing vocals) and Brad Truax (bass guitar) were named official members in 2026. The band's sound is generally a mix of staccato bass and rhythmic

The Arc of Interpol

The pivots — what forced Interpol to reinvent.

The Tarquin Attic Years
Before the hype reached a fever pitch, the band retreated to a residential studio in Connecticut with Peter Katis to capture a sound that felt entirely disconnected from the garage rock revival happening in Brooklyn. They utilized tight, gated reverb and heavily compressed drums to create a cold, urban atmosphere that defined their first two records. The interplay between Kessler’s rhythmic scratching and Dengler’s melodic, Highsmith-esque bass lines created a mechanical tension that peaked on Antics. This era ended when the band decided they had outgrown the indie constraints of Matador for a major label payday.
The Major Label Bloat
Signing to Capitol for Our Love to Admire saw the band trading the basement shadows for Hollywood's Electric Lady Studios and a more expansive, cinematic production style. Rich Costey pushed for a bigger, cleaner sound that prioritized Paul Banks’ vocals over the jagged post-punk edges, resulting in tracks that felt more like arena auditions than late-night anthems. The friction during these sessions eventually led to the departure of Carlos D, the man whose style provided the band's rhythmic backbone. Without him, the self-titled fourth album felt like a band searching for an identity they had already perfected five years earlier.
The Self-Sustained Trio
After the major label experiment soured and they returned to Matador, the remaining trio had to reinvent their workflow with Paul Banks taking over bass duties for El Pintor. Working with Dave Fridmann for Marauder in 2018 forced them into a raw, analog corner where they recorded straight to tape with no Pro Tools safety net. This forced a return to the urgency of their early days, stripping away the orchestral pretensions of the mid-2000s. You can hear the dirt back in the signal, especially in the blown-out drum tones that feel like a middle finger to the polished radio rock they briefly flirted with.

Influences

Joy Division — Banks has spent a career dodging the Ian Curtis comparisons, but the band famously covered 'Digital' during their early sessions. You hear it in the way the bass leads the melody while the guitars provide atmospheric texture. It is the architectural blueprint for their entire rhythmic approach.
The Chameleons — The band has cited Mark Burgess’s crew as a massive touchstone for their twin-guitar attack. The swirling, delay-heavy interplay on 'Script of the Bridge' is the direct ancestor to Daniel Kessler's layering on 'Untitled'. They took that Manchester gloom and exported it to Manhattan.
Pixies — Paul Banks told Rolling Stone that Doolittle was the record that made him want to play music. The loud-quiet-loud dynamics and the cryptic, often surrealist lyrical imagery are baked into the structures of their early EPs. It's the reason their songs feel like they're about to boil over before pulling back.
Television — The precise, interlocking guitar work of Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell is the literal DNA of the NYC post-punk scene they revived. You hear it in the clean, un-distorted guitar tones that favor melody over power chords. Without 'Marquee Moon', Interpol doesn't have a map for their fretboard geometry.
The Psychedelic Furs — The band toured with the Furs early on, and Richard Butler’s detached, smoky vocal delivery is a clear predecessor to Banks’ own style. The way 'The Ghost in You' balances pop sensibility with a deep, underlying melancholy is a trick Interpol has been trying to perfect since 1997. It is the sound of expensive sadness.