Eric R. Danton on Julian Plenti

"It's anyone's guess why Paul Banks recorded his solo debut under the pseudonym Julian Plenti, but the singer for New York band Interpol even created a back story: solo-acoustic singer-songwriter quits music in 2001 to focus on writing and engineering, only to reemerge when a bit of computer gadgetry allows him to flesh out his songs to orchestral proportions. Whatever. There's no mistaking Banks' stately vocal intonation for anyone else … even outside the context of Interpol's icy, gleaming post-punk. There [are] hints of that sound on 'Julian Plenti is ... Skyscraper' (Matador), recorded in part and mixed at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, but Banks pushes beyond Interpol's musical boundaries, too, with symphonic adornments and even acoustic songs. Horns spray brassy notes through 'Unwind,' and sweet strings swell up through the spaces between spare piano notes on 'Madrid Song,' which includes scratchy snippets of found vocals placed among Banks' fervent murmurs. … Banks trolls more familiar territory on opener 'Only If You Run,' the dark bass line and booming drums lending an understated urgency to his vocals" ("CD Review," Sound Check, 8/3/09).