Paul Banks has a reputation as a serious sort, and for good reason.
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When the Interpol singer showed up last month for an interview before the New York-based band’s Madison Square Garden show, he was carrying Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” and Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” (both gifts for a friend, he said). When he sat down, he bypassed the chit-chat, instead delving into a meaty discussion of authors Nabokov, Joyce and Proust.
Henry Miller “is my absolute favorite,” Banks said. “There’s a kindred spiritship to it. It’s not about his craft or anything. I just identify with his tone.”
Interpol’s appeal might be summed up the same way. Known for its cavernous, almost architectural sound, and for Banks’ darkly oblique lyrics, Interpol never has been a terribly accessible band. Its fans, you might say, just identify with its tone.
These days, however, Interpol seems to have more fans than ever. “Our Love to Admire,” the band’s third album and its first for a major label, recently debuted at an impressive No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart. Now the band, in the midst of a successful tour that brings them to Chicago on Thursday, is growing in popularity.
How did this happen? Banks, for all his insights into literature, had no theory.
“I think we’re a very good band,” Banks said. “We’ve always been who we are, and we’ll continue to be. And I can’t really speak for why or how we’ve grown, other than to say that people identify with what we are — and what that is, is authentic.”
“Our Love to Admire” is classic Interpol, though the band — which includes guitarist Daniel Kessler, bassist Carlos D. and drummer Sam Fogarino — made a few stylistic departures while recording at Electric Lady studios in New York. Armed with a new sampler and a computer, they built the lead track, “The Pioneer Falls,” around the sound of an obscure instrument called the oboe d’amore; they also experimented more intently with synthesizers to round out their already sweeping sound. “The Heinrich Maneuver,” with its jagged guitar line, has even become a modest modern rock hit.
Lyrically, Banks took his first step into narrative with “No I in Threesome,” which features the line, “It’s time we give something new a try.” No, he said, the song is not based on personal experience.
“Humor is not new to our music,” Banks said. “I don’t think people catch a lot of the humor in our music and our lyrics, but it’s always been there.”
Four Camel Lights later, Banks took his leave, but not before briefly revealing his lighter side. His plans for the evening, he said, included a sneak preview of the B-grade action flick “Shoot ‘Em Up,” starring Clive Owen. Banks seemed excited.
“I’m a snob about books,” he said, smiling. “But when it comes to movies, not so much.”