Wiki
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Length
5:41
This thematically vague but distinctly ominous and dark song is considered by fans to be one of the best Interpol album-opening tracks, perhaps only rivaled by “Untitled” from their acclaimed debut album, Turn on the Bright Lights.
In Drowned in Sound’s album review, Tom Milway wrote:
“Opening in an almost identical manner to Turn On The Bright Lights’ ‘Untitled’, standout track ‘Pioneer To The Falls’, complete with deft soundscapes and funereal trumpet, sets the experience up to be epic.“
Pitchfork released the first stream of the song on 20 June 2007 with a glowing album preview and song review:
“he disc’s moody (what else?) opener, doesn’t rush to make its point, either. Nor does it disappoint. A dark, brittle guitar line similar to pre-Turn on the Bright Lights live rarity “Cubed” (also known as “Mascara”) joins sparse piano and melancholy strings before Paul Banks' harrowed, Jim Morrison-like voice comes in, again beseeching patience“
However, in Pitchfork’s subsequent 6.0 album review, writer Ryan Dombal criticized the song:
“Tracks like six-minute opener…grate due to overly repetitive song structures that rely too heavily on choppy breakdowns and pointless solos.“
Previewing the album, Billboard also compared it to Jim Morrison:
“There are some new sonic experiments; the album begins with the funereal, nearly six-minute “Pioneer to the Falls,” featuring Jim Morrison-esque crooning from Banks“
MusicOMH’s 5/5 album review loved the song:
It starts spectacularly. Pioneer To The Falls is a magnificently ominous thing, all skeletal guitar riffs writhing like landed eels, a rhythm section laying weighty footprints down in the back and Banks’ spectral vocal floating wraith-like across the top. As a raspberry blown at those who speculated on the negative effects the move to major label backing may have produced, it’s loud, long and pretty darn-tootin’ decisive.
It was never released as one of the album’s singles.
It’s believed to refer to the rape and murder of Imette St. Guillen on February 25, 2006 in New York City. The title likely refers to her walk from the Pioneer bar to The Falls bar.
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