Julian Plenti is actually the not so secret alias/pen name of Paul Banks, the lead singer of Indie-Rock darlings Interpol. Oddly enough, Banks' Plenti persona has been around longer than his much more famous band. Banks used to perform as Plenti around New York City a decade ago in leaner days and while the boys from Interpol are taking some much needed time off, Banks has decided to resurrect his former self and Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper is his alter ego's long in the works debut.

Not surprisingly, Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper sounds pretty much like an Interpol record, such as the song "Games for Days" which even has Interpol drummer Sam Forgarino featured and easily could have come off any of their three albums, but there are a few instances where Banks throws in a few curveballs to keep listeners on their toes. "Unwind", with its upbeat trumpets and keyboards is far from expected from a guy who has been called Ian Curtis from Joy Division's doppelganger more than a few hundred thousand times and the acoustic "On the Esplanade" has a majestic beauty to it that not many other Interpol songs have ever come close to reaching.

There are a few clunkers here though that keeps Skyscraper from being as essential as Interpol's first two albums. "Fun That We Have" is a song that's verses and chorus seem to be two entirely different songs mashed together in a way that just seems awkward and "Girl on the Sporting News" is all around just one of the worst songs that Banks has ever crafted, Interpol or otherwise. But Skyscraper has more here to like than to not like and just like Interpol's last record, Julian Plenti has enough good stuff to get us by until hopefully we get something as classic as Interpol's first two albums.