Day After Day #177: PDA

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

PDA (2002)

With some bands, the first time you hear them is the most impactful. When I first heard Interpol's "PDA," it jumped out at me. It was 2002 and there was a lot of retro-sounding guitar music happening: the White Stripes, the Strokes, the Hives, Fu Manchu, etc. But Interpol was going for a different sound, combining a few different influences into a tight new concoction.

The band was formed in New York City in 1997 by Paul Banks (vocals, rhythm guitar), Daniel Kessler (lead guitar), Carlos Dengler (bass, keyboards) and Greg Drudy (drums). Drudy left in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino. They leaned into post-punk influences, the most obvious being Banks' vocal resemblance to Ian Curtis of Joy Division, but also basslines reminiscent of Peter Hook and sharp, slicing guitar harmonies. The band also drew comparisons to Echo and the Bunnymen and the Smiths.

The group released two self-released EPs before signing to Matador in 2001. A self-titled EP was released by Matador in June 2002 with three tracks that appeared on Interpol's debut album Turn On the Bright Lights: "PDA," "NYC" and "Specialist." 

The band's brooding first single, "PDA" begins with the drums before the ringing guitars chime in as Banks's baritone intones about a failed relationship.

"Yours is the only version of my desertion that I could ever subscribe to/That is all that I can do/You are a past dinner, the last winner, I'm raking all around me/Until the last drop is behind you/You're so cute when you're frustrated, dear/Well, you're so cute when you're sedated, dear/I'm resting."

I have no idea what the chorus is going on about but it sure sounds cool. 

"Sleep tight, grim rite/We have 200 couches where you can sleep tight, grim rite/We have 200 couches where you can sleep tight, grim rite/We have 200 couches where you can sleep tonight/Sleep tonight, sleep tonight/Sleep tonight."

But the best part of the song starts at the 3-minute mark (gotta go with the 5:00 album version, not the single), when the band launches into a mostly instrumental coda for the last 2 minutes. As the guitars ring out towards the end of the song, Banks sings in a distant, non-Curtisy voice, "Something to say/Something to do/Nothing to say/When there's nothing to do."

The single didn't chart, but the video got some play on MTV and the song was popular in the Boston area on WFNX. But it built buzz for Interpol, which was part of the much-hyped post-9/11 NYC rock scene detailed in the 2017 book (and later documentary) Meet Me in the Bathroom by Lizzy Goodman. Other bands that emerged from that scene were The Strokes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio and LCD Soundsystem. 

For the most part, Turn On the Bright Lights was critically lauded, even if it wasn't a huge seller, only getting to #158 on the Billboard 200. It hit #5 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart.

Interpol's second album, Antics, came out in September 2004 and was another strong effort, with "Slow Hands," "Evil" and "C'mere" all going top 40 in the U.K. They toured relentlessly, including opening for U2 and the Cure. The band's 2007 album, Our Love to Admire, came out on major label Capitol and sold about half as many copies as the previous two albums. The band returned to Matador for their self-titled fourth album in 2010, but Dengler left after the album was recorded; he was replaced by David Pajo on bass and Brandon Curtis on keys for the tour. Banks took over on bass for the fifth album El Pintor. There have been two more Interpol albums released since, with the most recent coming out in July 2022.

Each of the band members have released solo projects over the years, but the band continues to be a going concern. Still, Interpol's most interesting releases (for me, anyway) continue to be those first two, which are both excellent.