Julian Plenti: Julian Plenti Is...Skyscraper

"I've had my frustrations about, the pains of daily life."

The first line to be uttered from Interpol front-man Paul Banks' mouth on his new solo record pretty much immediately sums up everything about it's motives and why the CD is even here in the first place.

Maybe he was frustrated with his very own band and their situation at the time, or maybe he just needed a separate musical vent but either way, Julian Plenti has arrived and he's not very happy.

The previously quoted lyric comes from introductory song Only If You Run and it's by and large a near perfect opener for a CD like this. After a brief experimental twenty seconds we're thrown into a lazy, simple base-line followed by basic, effective percussions and Mr Banks himself. He seems to be having so much fun, driving the whole thing but never once demanding to command, easily recognising himself as the track's focal point yet never overbearing. The vocal rhythm suits him too and exemplifies why he's simply one of the best musicians in the industry; "These lonely dedications I've found, they bring me peace and light when three fold applications of doubt surround my fate."  Whomever declared that his lyrics weren't one of his strongest points should begin inserting their foot directly into their mouth.

Now, to get rid of the looming question that raises high above the fans and listener's heads; yes it does sound like Interpol and no it isn't a 'sell-out' record at all. It's dark, laced with maturity, cryptic at points and sure as hell isn't waiting, penis ready, for the mainstream to kindly fellate its ego. Track three Skyscraper holds just one repeated line, formed by just five words, four of which are the same two words and one of which is the songs title. "Shake me. Shake me. Skyscraper." The music builds eerily in the background, piano-keys sending shivers to the spine, dulled strings pricking each of your neck-hairs, forcing them to stand on end. Atmospherically, it's on par with Our Love To Admire's drastically barren Lighthouse, not in style but in how effectively it changes the surrounding mood. You simply can't do anything but listen and immerse yourself within its glow, regardless of what you can smell burning in the kitchen. 

Aside from the aforementioned highlights, we're treated to the chaotic, catchy and rough Games For Days; the strange, jagged and yet achingly wonderful Fly As You Might; Girl On The Sporting News and its dangerously sexy rhythm; the semi-ballad, slow burning longest track No Chance Survival and the beautiful, gradual final instrumental track H. In every direction you care to look over the elven tracks, you'll be guaranteed to find something positively riveting to latch onto, whether it's just a simple lyric you happen to have missed on previous listens or a distant rhythmic pulse that only surfaced recently. Either way, it's a genuinely inspired record that displays Banks as perfectly comfortable in his independent surroundings.

If there's one thing we sure do hate at Strange Glue, it's unnecessary horn/trumpet sections/melodies and though it's true that many have successfully achieved an admirable sound with said brass instruments (see: This Town Needs Guns - Elk, The National - Fake Empire, Sigur Ros - Ny Batteri), Banks seems to have a little trouble with it. On Unwind - possibly the record's worst song -, he implements an annoying brass rhythm over a slightly less annoying two-note keyboard riff. Electro vocals drift in, sounding akin to an under-water robot and thought it's applaudable in experimentation, it's a little too derivative to warrant featuring on a debut (not to mention openly solidifying itself as the only radio-baiting track on the LP).

Not only is Banks able to effortlessly hold the weight of a solo record upon his shoulders but he's also managed to do it with his ever-present, ever-welcomed New-Yorkian style and flare. Slight gripes aside Julian Plenty Is...Skyscraper is an unabashed triumph.