Under the Julian Plenti moniker, Interpol’s frontman, Paul Banks made a solo record, entitled Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper. The album is pretty amazing and will please Interpol’s fans as well as new ones who look for a more experimental, weirder indie pop record than Interpol’s post punk-ish stuff. I’m in love with Interpol and this record seems to grow on me too. The album will be out on 4t of August and on Matador (pre-order). What you will obviously recognize on the record is Banks’ ghastly voice and the melancholy it evokes. Of course, the influences range from Syd Barrett through Nick Drake, Lou Reed to maybe even Sufjan Stevens (but I’m not sure that Banks heard about him) on the singer-songwriter side. Along these lines and for the NYC underground this record is very interesting. The interesting soundscape that surrounds it (with pianos, strings, post-rock experiments and the dry guitars) and the brilliant lyrics strenghten the atmosphere of profound sadness and desperate attempts to break through the devilish circles of alienation and isolation. My favourite song, the first one, however, speaks from a different point of view: “I’ve had my frustrations about the things of daily life” - this is something peaceful and looking back at the turmoil. All in all, you can find many ambiogous and stimulating themes along the uniqueness of the music.

Julian Plenti - Only If You Run [mediafire] // [ysi]

This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 8:37 am and is filed under paul banks, julian plenti, singer-songwriter, album review, indie, experimental, interpol.