With Our Love to Admire, Interpol places a far greater emphasis on synths and keys. As result, said effects enjoy a much more prominent influence in the album's music. This formula works out quite well throughout the album, but is definitely at its most effective in the album's opener Pioneer to the Falls.

Though is technically 's first major-label album, the way the band attempted to streamline the gorgeously dark atmospherics of into something more marketable on made that album feel more like their big-time debut than this album does. On, spends roughly half their time following ' game plan of distilling their sound into readily accessible hooks, and the other half stretching their sound with deluxe arrangements and filigrees like strings, brass, and keyboards (all of which are used to grandiose effect on 'Wrecking Ball'). 's poppy tracks have been polished into black patent leather brilliance: 'No I in Threesome's jaunty, insistent rhythms and 'The Heinrich Maneuver's relatively bright, bouncy attack show that has gotten better, or at least more accomplished, at transforming their sound into singles since.

More heartening news for fans arrives on 's ambitious tracks, some of which come close to touching the greatness of 's debut. 'Pioneer to the Falls' uses the album's expansive production to the hilt, beginning with elegantly treacherous guitars, strings, and pianos; 's soaring guitar solo and ' repeated entreaties of 'you fly straight into my heart' feel like the musical equivalent of storm clouds clearing. Alerton visual logic software. The song is filmic and full of ideas, and updates the spirit behind without rehashing its sound slavishly. 'Mammoth' is another standout, a tense yet hypnotic rocker that builds into a graceful fury around the refrain 'spare me the suspense' and the band's relentless rhythm section. However, two of the prettiest songs vie for the title of the album's strongest track: 'Rest My Chemistry' is 's languid, luminous centerpiece (and the song that most clearly recalls ' magic), while the album's spare, vulnerable finale, 'The Lighthouse,' boasts some of ' most natural, affecting vocals yet.

When falters -- and it falters a fair amount of the time -- it's because 's attention to atmosphere and detail outpaces the songwriting. At this point the band is so professional that songs like 'The Scale,' 'Who Do You Think?,' and 'Pace Is the Trick' can sound good in the moment, but fail to leave a lasting impression.

With nearly as many awkward moments as inspired ones, is a somewhat schizophrenic listening experience. It feels like half of an album by a band making sure their songs that fit the mold of what they've done before, and half of an album by a band using their major-label leverage to push their boundaries. Who knows which version of the band will prevail, but there are just enough interesting songs on to suggest that they can't be written off entirely just yet.