On "Only If You Run," from Julian Plenti, a/k/a the Dude from Interpol

Fluxblog today has the first track from Julian Plenti Is... Skyscraper, the early-August full-length from one Paul Banks, he of Interpol, going the solo/enigmatic alter-ego route. It's perhaps not the most encouraging sign that several spins my strongest reaction is "I really like the drum sound," but there it is. As you might expect, "Only If You Run" is very lush, very emotionally muted bedroom-goth with cryptic lyrics that neither articulate nor embarrass themselves and lots of dainty keyboard melodies intruding and overlapping, which I guess is the innovation. Like a Postal Service thing except he's trying to ensnare someone way "darker" than Zooey Deschanel. We are rooting for him, and why not.