Interpol singer/guitarist Paul Banks takes a vacation from the land of four-piece bands on his solo debut as Julian Plenti, Julian Plenti... Is Skyscraper.
Banks, or should I say, Plenti, takes the dark, post-punk rock sound of his dayjob group and perverts it with layers of piano, synth, acoustic guitar, strings and drum machine on the album's 11 tracks.
Here Banks revives the part of the sexy cad on gloomy pop gems like "Games For Days," where he employs his commanding baritone, but also plays the role of Mr. Lonely on downcast tracks like "Madrid Song."
"Only If You Run" gets my vote for being the album's best track, but maybe that's because I'm a sap. With its familiar but endearing melody, it's one of the best mac 'n' cheese songs of '09.
Stick a fork in me.
There are messy parts, too. I just can't get into "Fun That We Have," which sounds like instruments competing rather than meshing, while "Fly as You Might" crash lands into stilted drum machine oblivion. And survey says "Girl on the Sporting News" shouldn't have made it into the studio if only for its lyrics: “Girl don’t buy that dress on lonely street.” Indeed.
This isn't an album to really sink your teeth into, but it's worth a listen for fans of dark Interpol-style music, obviously.
And with today's announcement that Banks will tour far and wide this fall as Julian Plenti, it was also learned that a San Francisco stop is planned for Nov. 18 at the Great American Music Hall.
September 23, 2009
Album review: Julian Plenti -
Julian Plenti... Is Skyscraper
Interpol singer/guitarist Paul Banks takes a vacation from the land of four-piece bands on his solo debut as Julian Plenti, Julian Plenti... Is Skyscraper.
Banks, or should I say, Plenti, takes the dark, post-punk rock sound of his dayjob group and perverts it with layers of piano, synth, acoustic guitar, strings and drum machine on the album's 11 tracks.
Here Banks revives the part of the sexy cad on gloomy pop gems like "Games For Days," where he employs his commanding baritone, but also plays the role of Mr. Lonely on downcast tracks like "Madrid Song."
"Only If You Run" gets my vote for being the album's best track, but maybe that's because I'm a sap. With its familiar but endearing melody, it's one of the best mac 'n' cheese songs of '09.
Stick a fork in me.
There are messy parts, too. I just can't get into "Fun That We Have," which sounds like instruments competing rather than meshing, while "Fly as You Might" crash lands into stilted drum machine oblivion. And survey says "Girl on the Sporting News" shouldn't have made it into the studio if only for its lyrics: “Girl don’t buy that dress on lonely street.” Indeed.
This isn't an album to really sink your teeth into, but it's worth a listen for fans of dark Interpol-style music, obviously.
And with today's announcement that Banks will tour far and wide this fall as Julian Plenti, it was also learned that a San Francisco stop is planned for Nov. 18 at the Great American Music Hall.
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