Interpol Schminterpol

My first acquaintance with Interpol took place in 2003, when I had to review their South Florida show for The Miami Herald. It was a muscular performance, but gross too, like those pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger flexing in the seventies. I liked "Evil," "Obstacle 1," and "Slow Hands" well enough; they reminded me of Duran Duran's inscrutable art-pomp circa 1984. I'm not sure what can save them now – a new stylist? Whatever. This was tremendous fun to write.

I'm mystified that, as music reviewing becomes increasingly democratic, confusion still exists about the critic's function. Is it so hard to accept that an editor says, "We got the Interpol album. Would you like to review it?" and that, yes, critics are supposed to bring their biases?