Turn on the Bright Lights

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"The New" redirects here. For other uses, see New (disambiguation).
Turn On the Bright Lights
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights.jpg
Studio album by Interpol
Released August 20, 2002[1]
Recorded November 2001
Studio Tarquin Studios
(Bridgeport, Connecticut)
Genre
Length 49:02
Label Matador
Producer
Interpol chronology
Turn On the Bright Lights
(2002)		 Antics
(2004)Antics2004
Singles from Turn on the Bright Lights
  1. "PDA"
    Released: August 2002 (promotional)
  2. "Obstacle 1"
    Released: November 11, 2002
  3. "NYC"/"Say Hello to the Angels"
    Released: April 14, 2003

Turn On the Bright Lights is the debut studio album by the American rock band Interpol, released in August 2002. The album was recorded in November 2001 at Tarquin Studios in Connecticut, and was co-produced, mixed and engineered by Peter Katis and Gareth Jones. It was released on August 19, 2002 in the United Kingdom and August 20 in the United States, through independent record label Matador Records. Upon release, the record peaked at number 101 on the UK Albums Chart. It reached number 158 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, as well as spending 73 weeks in the Billboard Independent Albums, peaking at number five.

"PDA", "NYC", "Obstacle 1" and "Say Hello to the Angels" were the singles from Turn On the Bright Lights, and a video was shot for each with the exception of "Say Hello to the Angels".

The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 29, 2011 for shipments of 500,000 copies.[2]

A remastered version of the album was released in 2012 to commemorate its tenth anniversary. It featured additional material including demo recordings of several tracks, the bonus songs previously available on international releases and a DVD of live performances and music videos.[3]

Promotion and release

The release of Turn On the Bright Lights was preceded by the marketing of the band's self-titled Interpol EP in June 2002, their first release for Matador. The EP contained three tracks: radio single "PDA", future single "NYC", and "Specialist". All three tracks later appeared on the album, with "Specialist" included as a bonus track in Australian and Japanese editions. Further promotion continued at the beginning of the following year, when the band played the 2003 NME Awards Tour alongside The Datsuns, The Polyphonic Spree and The Thrills.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 81/100[5]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 5/5 stars[6]
Blender 3/5 stars[7]
Entertainment Weekly A–[8]
Los Angeles Times 3/4 stars[9]
NME 8/10[10]
Pitchfork Media 9.5/10[11][3]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[12]
Slant Magazine 4.5/5 stars[13]
Sputnikmusic 5/5[14]
The Village Voice C+[15]

Upon its initial release, Turn On the Bright Lights received a score of 81 out of 100 from Metacritic based on 21 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[5] Michael Chamy of The Austin Chronicle drew favorable comparisons between the band and a number of acts, citing "melodic Peter Hook-like basslines; the divine shoegazer textures of My Bloody Valentine and Ride; a peppy, Strokes-like bounce; and a singer who's a dead ringer for Ian Curtis."[16] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club stated that the band's virtue "lies in the way its music unfurls from pinched openings to wide-open codas."[17] Billboard wrote that Interpol had created "a homage to their particular vision of the '80s that stands proudly alongside the best of its idols."[18] Scott Seward, writing in The Village Voice, likewise gave Turn on the Bright Lights a favorable review and said of Interpol: "If I like them because they remind me of eating bad bathtub mescaline in the woods and listening to Cure singles, well, that'll do. You might like them for completely different reasons."[19]

Q was less complimentary of Turn On the Bright Lights, describing it as "predictably claustrophobic listening" in a three-star review of the album.[5] Robert Christgau, assigning the album as "Dud of the Month" in his Consumer Guide column for The Village Voice, felt that comparisons to Joy Division were "too kind" of an assessment for the band, whom he felt "exemplify and counsel disengagement, self-seeking, a luxurious cynicism."[15]

Turn On the Bright Lights gained so much critical success that not only was it hailed as one of best debuts of 2002, but is considered by some to be one of the best records of the decade. Turn on the Bright Lights is widely regarded as one of the most influential records of the decade (2000-2009). Turn On the Bright Lights made several critics' Top 10 lists of 2002.

  • Thee-O – #1
  • Michael Azerrad – #1
  • Chris Baldwin – #10
  • Greg Beets – #2
  • Eric Broome – #8
  • Dana Buoniconti – #5
  • Nick Catucci – #6
  • Paul Clements – #4
  • Dave Clifford – #4
  • Ethan Covey – #8
  • Corey du Browa – #8
  • Cyndi Elliott – #7
  • Norm Elrod – #3
  • John Elsasser – #7

The rest of the list is located at The Village Voice.

Accolades

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
Publication Accolade Rank
Pitchfork Media 'Top 50 Albums of 2002' #1[20]
Pitchfork Media 'Top 100 albums 2000-2004' #3[21]
Pitchfork Media 'Top 200 albums of the 2000s' #20[22]
Stylus 'Top 20 Favourite Albums of 2002' #5[23]
Stylus 'Top 50 Albums 2000-2005' #6[24]
Stylus 'Top 100 Albums of the 2000s' #20[25]
NME 'Best Albums of 2002' #10[26]
NME '100 Greatest Albums of the Decade' #8[27]
NME '500 Greatest Albums of All Time' #130[28]
Rolling Stone '100 Best Albums of the Decade' #59[29]
Under the Radar 'Top 200 Albums of the Decade' #3[30]
Beats Per Minute 'Top 100 Albums of the Decade' #7[31]
eMusic '100 Best Albums of the Decade' #9
Lost At Sea '2000-2009: Albums of the Decade' #13[32]
The Irish Times 'Top 20 Albums of the Decade' #10[33]
Consequence of Sound 'Top 100 Albums of the Decade' #35[34]
musicOMH '21 Best Albums of the 2000s' #12

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Interpol. 

No. Title Length
1. "Untitled"   3:56
2. "Obstacle 1"   4:11
3. "NYC"   4:20
4. "PDA"   4:59
5. "Say Hello to the Angels"   4:28
6. "Hands Away"   3:05
7. "Obstacle 2"   3:47
8. "Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down"   6:28
9. "Roland"   3:35
10. "The New"   6:07
11. "Leif Erikson"   4:00
Total length:
 49:02

Bonus tracks on Australian edition

  • "Specialist" – 6:39

Bonus tracks on Japanese edition

Two different versions exist. One version has the following bonus tracks:

  • "Interlude" – 1:02
  • "Specialist" – 6:39

The other version has the following bonus tracks:

  • "Hands Away" (Peel session)
  • "Obstacle 2" (Peel session)
  • "PDA" (video)
  • "NYC" (video)
  • "Obstacle 1" (video)

Bonus tracks on Mexican edition

  • "Interlude" – 1:02
  • "Specialist" – 6:39
  • "PDA" (video)
  • "NYC" (video)
  • "Obstacle 1" (video)

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart (2002) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[35] 101
U.S. Billboard 200[36] 158
Chart (2003) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Independent Albums[36] 5

Certifications

Region Certification Shipments
United States (RIAA) Gold[2] 500,000

References

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  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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