My take: 4 obners. I think it's significantly stronger than their debut. The four best tracks (Next Exit, Evil, Slow Hands, and esp. Not Even Jail) SLAY.

Have played it twice, and I like it, but my Obner remains flaccid....

Maybe a few more listens will get the blood flowing?

Three listens in, I'm not sure. A lot of it sounds samey. I can't decide if I like "Evil" or find it insipidly catchy.

3 obners. It's aight, as the kids would say, but I think the debut destroys it into tiny little obnoids. *realizes song writing is better on second*

4 obners. i like it better than the first one as well.

I give 4 obners, but still like Turn on the Bright Lights more.

I'm giving it 3 for about the same reason...less cohesion, more happy, and nothing draws me in as well as a lot of the stuff on the firrst album, "Stella" be damned...

Still in pre-obner assimilation on this one...

4.5 obners for me. It has just kept sounding better and better to my ears since I got it.

I was just listening to this in the car, and the persistent, driving songs on Antics are on the whole better than ToTBL. And that's pretty much most of the album. Definitely one of my favorites this year.

I went back & forth between 3.5 & 4, then went with 4 cuz I was feelin' generous. I think it's better than the first record. If they were on a major label they'd be on their way to Gold right now ( not saying that's good, bad, or indifferent ) .

another thick and meaty 4.

So who one-obnered it?

I think it is quite good, but much like Doves' Last Broadcast, it doesn't have the mood of the debut. Not that the songwriting and music are worse per se, rather they aren't as cohesive as a whole.

To me TOTBL set a standard for Interpol. From the first few chords you knew what kind of vibe would follow, and it delivered. Hyped or not.

I guess maybe I am a sappy sucker for a slow builder at the beginning of cds if only for the tone it sets.

I gave it 4...

I gave it a 4.5 But I probably should have done 4.

I gave it a 4 as well...this is definitely one of my faves this year...but I've been listening to it a little too much lately, I'm starting to burn myself out

RESULTS: 3.5 Obners

At first, it was 4. After seeing them play live on the current tour- 4.5, seeing how much better they got live since ToTBL came out.

My favorite tracks:
Take You on A Cruise
Slow Hands
Evil
Not Even Jail

puma.....how do they do all those guitar parts live? I thought their singer just sang....what do they do to compensate for the layering on the record?

OH, why do you have to get all technical on me?! I'm so sorry but I'm horrible when it comes to describing that stuff. I can tell you this much: live they sounded just like the records, but better... and they had a keyboardist with them.

I'm no help. Sorry.

What he said.

I say BARELY 2 obners. More like 1.75. It's just not very good. And I LOVED the first one.

maybe that's the point...it's that evil

anway, i gave it 3.5 and that's being a little generous i think b/c it is very recyclive and derivative, but it's so damn good.

additional bingo

that's the trick about a catchy record..the catch-22 if you will. listen to it too much, it burns you out, listen to it just often enough, it remains fresh