Image isn't everything. If it was, then the New York four-piece known as Interpol would have already become one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. While their tailored suits and runway-ready haircuts have brought them plenty of press, the band is actually earning recognition the old-fashioned way, by releasing imaginative, yet solid albums and touring relentlessly.

Formed by New York University students in 1998, the band didn't acquire international stardom until four years later with their debut LP, "Turn on the Bright Lights," a nocturnal epic emanating from the dark, lonely heart of Gotham. Comparisons to groups like Television, Bauhaus and (most frequently) Joy Division are apt, but often misleading. Postpunk's rusty clang is palpable, but so submerged in glistening washes of reverb that the scabby angst melts away to reveal a glass-smooth complexion beneath.

Last year's follow-up, "Antics," refines the Interpol sound, unfurling more spacious arrangements and warmer chord progressions, while allowing the glint of silver lining to shimmer through the clouds. The track "Slow Hands" scrubs heartache away with brisk dance-punk riffs while the slow-burner, "Not Even Jail," stacks layers of organ atop chiming guitars while the rhythm section marches tautly to the top of the world.