Interpol's last album, Our Love To Admire, really proved to be a rather unfair whipping boy—the NYC band's dour, slick image had always rubbed many the wrong way and the group's move to Capitol from beloved indie Matador didn't help either. While not the top-to-bottom knockout they delivered with Turn On The Bright Lights and Antics, OLTA was a pretty solid album, but hey, the damage was done. So now while the band regroups, lead singer Paul Banks resurfaces with a new nom de plume, Julian Plenti. When you sing like Banks, chances are that your solo project is going to sound at least a little like Interpol, and Is...Skyscraper plays kind of like a very high-quality demo for his main act, with many of the moments that would normally be occupied by the group's formidable rhythm section left seemingly unfinished. The result, however, isn't nearly as confused or underdone as that might sound. In his hands alone, the music sounds a lot like how Banks sings—romantic, but distant; clipped, but relaxed; obtuse in meaning, yet weirdly clear. And while "Games For Days" would do well as the next Interpol single, it's more meandering tracks like "Madrid", "No Chance Survival" and "Skyscraper" that are this album's reason for being. It won't change anyone's mind about Banks or Interpol, but devotees owe this record their ears.