Interpol's concert last week at the Harro Ballroom was the first show for the band since the release of its new album, Our Love to Admire, but the band still played incredibly tight on both the new and the old songs. Really it's had plenty of practice with the new material; it has been in rotation for most of the band's dates this year.

The band has always had a knack for great opening songs, and they led off with the creepy, building, "Pioneer to the Falls," setting a mood that only shifted slightly for the rest of the night. Lead singer Paul Banks managed to affect a weary, captivating tone, which he kept throughout, making for one of the better shows I've seen in a while.

Interpol is, as anyone familiar with its work knows, the antithesis of a jam band; in concert the members play the songs much as they are on the album, with little improvisation. Still, they manage to add something through careful song sequencing, stark light effects, and a stage manner that, if not welcoming, at least acknowledges the presence of the audience.  (Even if the bassist, Carlos D., only does so between vacant stares and drags on a cigarette.) The bulk of the set was made up of faster songs from their first two albums played assuredly.

The band really did stick mostly to older stuff, playing only three songs from "Our Love." It wasn't clear whether the rest of the audience did or didn't want more.  I, however, was glad--though "Pioneer" is one of their better songs, "The Scale" and "Resting My Chemicals," the other two new ones, are, more or less, boring.

The crowd stayed involved and the set stayed consistent excepting a few minor sound issues early on. Interpol closed with "Not Even Jail" to heavy applause, bringing on an encore. They were at their best for the encore, starting with "NYC," the most languorous song of the night and the prettiest too.  "Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down" struck the perfect note for a final Interpol song: gloomy, oblique, and excellent.