(Review by DCist guest reviewer Peter Denton)

While most indie bands are content to pander to their local constituents and bring the pork home to their narrow fan base, Interpol is following Hillary Clinton’s lead and has their eyes set on breaking through to a national, mainstream audience.

Sure, the couture-clad gents from NYC might not be tacking to the center on abortion rights or injecting their songs with overtures to the religious right, but their Friday night sold-out show at 9:30 Club showed off their crisp and focused radio-ready chops that are helping them charm red-state fly-over audiences.

Interpol kicked their set off with Paul Banks darkly intoning, “We ain’t going to the town, we’re going to the city,” and the band launched into a drowsy take on “Next Exit,” the lead track from their latest LP, Antics. While Interpol peppered their setlist with rockers like “Slow Hands,” “Obstacle 1,” and “PDA,” much of the night was devoted to their gloomy dirges and droning midtempo post-punk sound.

After more than two years of constant touring, Interpol has developed an incredibly tight and clean sound. Banks’ vocals are way up in the mix and the band nails every song to perfection while closely mimicking the album’s arrangements. This works great for their up-tempo singles, but really leaves something to be desired on the rest of their tracks.