"El Pintor", Interpol’s new album, out 9th September

After a break spanning almost four years since their last release, Interpol have returned with renewed vigour with their fifth studio album entitled El Pintor. The title, as well as being an anagram of Interpol, translates as ‘the painter’, and this focus on art and creativity remains prevalent throughout the album, from its striking cover art to its musical ingenuity. Despite the fact that the quartet has been reduced to a trio after the departure of their bassist Carlos Dengler, the album’s sound remains rich, retaining its loud bass, heavy snares and strong vocals. Comparisons have been made between El Pintor and the band’s highly successful debut album Turn on the Bright Lights from back in 2002. Commenting on their similarities in an interview with RollingStone 2014 magazine, band member Paul Banks stated that since Dengler’s departure ‘we are, again, a new band with something to prove’, meaning that ‘there is a parallel between our first album and this one in that you can't get that excitement in any other way than starting from zero’.

The album was recorded at the Electric Lady Studios in the band’s hometown of New York City, alongside the sound engineer James Brown, who has previously worked with the Arctic Monkeys and the Foo Fighters. In addition the album will be accompanied by the band’s first global tour in three years, which includes concerts in Vancouver, Boston, Dallas, Paris, Amsterdam and Dublin, as well as many others. Whether you are not fortunate enough to be able to see Interpol perform in person or not, lucky for you the album is available exclusively to pre-order on Qobuz already, with an irresistible offer on the 24-bit Studio Master.

See below to get a glimpse of behind the scenes action during the album's production.

Also see below for All The Rage Back Home, a new track on El Pintor