Photo courtesy of Matador Records New York City's Interpol ÷ earning comparisons to New York City bands such as The Strokes, not to metion press for their sytlish on-stage outfits ÷ plays their first show in Tucson at Solar Culture Gallery at 9 p.m. Friday. The band moves on to Europe after they wrap up their American tour.

Interpol's dark suits and melancholy looks seem out of place in the pages of Jane Magazine. But there they are, between the fashion spreads and relationship advice columns. There's something to be said about a band whose hype has rolled them out of obscurity and into the pages of girlie fashion magazines in a matter of months.

But that something shouldn't be "new" or "garage." While the band has been swept up in the same hype machine that has every magazine paying tribute to New York City bands like The Strokes and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, they sound nothing like their neighbors. And while those bands have been followed almost since their inception, Interpol has been around for much longer. Still, as they make their way on their first extensive American tour, including a stop Friday in Tucson at Solar Culture, the band doesn't seem to mind the high expectations.

"It's cool to be mentioned with the same bands. But we'll be doing what we're doing before and after (the attention). We're self-sufficient without the hype," said guitarist Daniel Kessler.

Interpol, which began in 1998 when the members met at New York University, were signed to Matador Records before all the attention started being focused on New York City bands, according to Kessler. He also believes his band won't be overwhelmed by the pressure to live up to all the attention.

"I think it's important to be kind of stable," said Kessler. "We've just kind of benefited from (New York's music scene) being magnified. We've paid our dues, we really worked up and fought hard for all the shows, we booked our own tours, our own peel sessions."

With all the attention placed on the band, magazines have been quick to find easy points of reference for the band. While Interpol's influences on their album "Turn on the Bright Lights" seem far and wide ÷ bands from Radiohead and Spiritualized to Television and the Smiths come to mind ÷ one comparison always comes up.

Interpol can't shake the comparison to '80s British band Joy Division, a comparison that seems to come solely from lead singer Paul Banks' cold baritone, which is similar to Ian Curtis' (of Joy Division) own anguished, dark vocals.

"It's a pretty easy comparison, sort of a surface one. They're certainly a very good band," said Kessler. "They were never a big influence on the band. They're no more of an influence than 150 other bands. We listen to a lot more new music," said Kessler, who said the group has been listening to bands such as Spoon, Lambchop, Spiritualized and Can while on tour.

Interpol's fashion sensibility has also brought them some attention. All the members wear impeccably tailored suits coupled with impeccably styled haircuts. The similarity in dress between the members might lead people to assume it was planned, but Kessler insists that each member simply feels more comfortable in their suits.

"We do like to dress up. It matches with the band," said Kessler. "It isn't an association or an image," he said, adding that playing in warm locations while wearing suits has helped him develop an "unhealthy tolerance to high heat."

If the press should avoid easy comparisons when describing Interpol, how does Interpol describe itself?

"We're pretty evasive when we describe (ourselves) with adjectives," said Kessler. "It ruins people's imaginations otherwise."