A Fine Mess (EP)

A Fine Mess is the eighth extended play by American rock band Interpol. It was released on May 17, 2019, through Matador Records. It contains five songs that were recorded during the sessions for their previous studio album, Marauder (2018), but did not make its final cut. Like Marauder, A Fine Mess was produced by Dave Fridmann, while the song "Fine Mess" was co-produced by Claudius Mittendorfer and received additional production from Kaines and Tom A. D. Fuller.[7] The song "Real Life" was first performed live during their Turn On the Bright Lights XV anniversary tour in 2017.[8] "Fine Mess" and "The Weekend" were released as singles prior to the EP's release.

A Fine Mess
EP by Interpol
Released	May 17, 2019
Recorded	December 6, 2017 – April 18, 2018
Studio	Tarbox Road (Cassadaga, New York)
Genre	Indie rock post-punk revival
Length	17:45
Label	Matador
Producer	Dave Fridmann Claudius Mittendorfer
Interpol chronology
Marauder (2018) A Fine Mess (2019)
Singles from A Fine Mess
"Fine Mess" Released: January 30, 2019[1] "The Weekend" Released: March 28, 2019[2]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	59/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Paste	6/10[5]
Pitchfork	5.6/10[6]

Critical reception

A Fine Mess was met with mixed or average reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 59, based on 6 reviews.[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fine Mess"	3:15
2.	"No Big Deal"	3:49
3.	"Real Life"	4:26
4.	"The Weekend"	3:03
5.	"Thrones"	3:12
Total length:		17:45

Charts

Chart	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9]	87
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10]	51
Scottish Albums (OCC)[11]	24
UK Albums (OCC)[12]	94
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[13]	8
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[14]	36

References

1. "Fine Mess – Single by Interpol on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
2. Daramola, Israel (March 28, 2019). "Interpol Announce New EP, Release "The Weekend"". Spin. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
3. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
4. Phares, Heather. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
5. Schonfield, Zach (May 17, 2019). "Paste Magazine Review". Paste. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
6. Josephs, Brian (May 22, 2019). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
7. A Fine Mess (liner notes). Interpol. Matador Records. 2019.CS1 maint: others (link)
8. Collini, Eleonora (August 14, 2018). "Interpol // Interview". London in Stereo. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
9. "Ultratop.be – Interpol – A Fine Mess EP" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
10. "Ultratop.be – Interpol – A Fine Mess EP" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
11. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
12. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
13. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
14. "Top Album Sales". Billboard. June 1, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.