Turn On the Bright Lights, New York band Interpol’s debut album, came out on August 20, 2002. This past Thursday marked the 18th anniversary of its release. This is my favorite album of all time and arguably one of the best rock albums of the century so far. The fact that it was the band’s debut makes it even more charming, and set such a high bar for Interpol that many critics think they’ll never touch it again. As a fan, it feels wrong to write them off so easily, but granted, TOTBL is nearly flawless.

“Untitled” sets the mood like no other album opener I’ve ever heard. “Obstacle 1” is the band’s “hit,” and the song that introduced me to the band. Constructed around guitar genius Daniel Kessler’s staccato chords, the song moves without picking up the pace in the sense of traditional rock singles. Kessler’s guitar playing is the band’s Swiss Army knife, able to provide detuned dissonance on “The New” and velvety chords on another hit, “NYC.”

The truly timeless song on the record in my opinion is “PDA,” a five-minute track right in the middle of the album that features the best two minutes of music ever recorded. Kessler has the entire spotlight to himself in the outro, and seeing as to how he is my guitar hero, I never get tired of listening to the larger-than-life chord progression that is first joined by Carlos D’s unique bass style, then singer-guitarist Paul Banks’ guitar melody, and finally by Sam Fogarino’s drumming. Kessler even sings a few lines towards the end, which makes a devoted fan like me daydream about what it would be like if he sang for Interpol, which was the original plan before the extremely talented Banks joined the band. I’m happy with the way things have turned out, though.

I know I’ve only mentioned a handful of songs, but the whole album is truly a masterpiece that contains songs that have been lost in the rest of the band’s catalogue but are adored by fans.

We should all take a moment to lose ourselves in the work of art that launched Interpol’s career and is still referenced as one of the indie stalwarts of the aughts. One could argue Interpol has been overshadowed by more mainstream acts such as the Strokes or the Killers, but there is so much great music hidden in their discography. And it all started with Turn On the Bright Lights.

Ryan Meyer is a sophomore journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].