Interpol are staring down the reality of AI on their atmospheric new single ‘Iron City’ – listen to it below.
The track is the third to be taken from the New York band’s forthcoming ninth album ‘This Mirror Weighs A Ton’, which is set for release on August 28 via Partisan Records – pre-order it here.
Following the Massive Attack-inspired title track and the single ‘See Out Loud’, ‘Iron City’ finds the band leaning into the tension between past and future that runs throughout the new record.
Paul Banks’ lyrics conjure recurring dreams and strolls through Central Park, with the track’s recurring refrain of “I can feel your love, iron city” sitting alongside interlocking guitars, a propulsive rhythm section and atmospheric textures.
Listen to ‘Iron City’ here:
Speaking to NME about the song, Banks said: “That song is more a conversation between the human narrator and the future artificial intelligence that’s running things. Will this matriarchal tech be benevolent or angry? It switches between singing to it and it singing to us.”
Asked if he fears AI, Banks responded: “No. AI replacing art can only base itself on what we’ve made, so without new stuff it will devolve into a simulacra and have no bearing on the human experience. We need to be feeding it new real stuff for it to be doing anything of real note.
“There’s always been shit art that’s purposefully formulaic, now there will just be a computer trying to play the formula. When people get bored of the formula, you’re going to need a person to make the next leap and then the AI can mimic that.”
He continued: “It’ll be human creativity that’s always ahead of the curve. It’s the young artists’ job to work in reaction to the status quo, so they’ll always be breaking new ground that the computer won’t have the human side to make something that feels essential. In a military space is where it’s all a bit sketchier.”
‘This Mirror Weighs A Ton’ was produced by Andrew Wyatt [ROSALÍA, Charli XCX] and mixed by Dave Fridmann [Sleater-Kinney, MGMT], and utilises “strings, woodwinds, layered vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar and experimental sound design” to their signature sense of atmosphere and inescapable rhythms.
The album will also feature ‘Wings On Fire’, which the band debuted live earlier this year. Banks described that track to NME as “a fun romp”, adding: “That’s the fulfilment of what we were aiming to do on this one, in being more rocking and raucous.”
Interpol signed to Partisan Records earlier this year, and they will also return to the UK this summer for a special appearance at All Points East x Outbreak in London on August 23, supporting Deftones on a bill that also includes IDLES, Amyl & The Sniffers and others.
After a 23-date North American headline tour, Interpol will head out on a UK and European co-headline arena tour with Bloc Party later this year, including two nights at London’s Olympia on December 4 and 5. See the full list of dates here and find tickets here.
