Following hot on the heels of fellow NYC sensations The Strokes, Interpol were a more austere, moody bunch, creating a dark, claustrophobic atmosphere on their debut album. The levels of tension rarely let up throughout, from the stabbing guitar lines and urgent vocals of 'Obstacle 1' to the frantic, Smiths-referencing squall of 'Say Hello to the Angels' to the menacing-sounding closer 'Leif Erikson'. 'PDA' remains the group's finest moment, a relentlessly sinister rocker that gives way to a glorious coda around the three-minute mark, although not far behind it is the graceful, elegiac sweep of 'NYC', a conflicted paean to their hometown.
