Notwist
Domino Records
(2008)
***
Since their start in 1989, the seasoned Wilhelm rockers, Notwist, have deviated considerably from their anarchic roots of hardcore punk by meandering down the road of electronic experimentation. An obsession that kick-started their third album, 12 , and then in 2002, fleshed out beautifully in their commercially successful album, Neon Golden . Although it’s been a five-year hiatus since their last full length dropped, you know these veterans have been hard at work, unfettered by deadlines, seeking out the natural progression of their sound. For their allegorical album, The Devil, You + Me , a forthcoming release on Domino Records , they reveal a beautiful and tender post-rock offering that contains both familiar pop structures and progressive experimentations in electronica.

Opening the album is the nostalgic song, “Good Lies.” Markus Acher’s soothing words describe life’s pitfalls and yet discard all insecurities in his perserverant refrain: “Remember the good lies win.” In its lyrical balm, he accepts the commonly felt neuroses that envelop our busy lives and he urges us to “just imitate the real/until we find a better one”, a delicate song that renders a quiet catharsis within the tension of city-dwelling. Instantly a light melodic classic that can easily become the soundtrack to your long ruminations under the evening constellations.

Following that track is the restrained, electronics-heavy, “Where in this World,” a song cinematic in scope and further enhanced by the rich string arrangements of the ‘Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra.’ The minimal static beats and spaced-out atmosphere of this song calls to mind Bjork’s Vespertine -era wintry soundscape. Similarly, in “Alphabet,” Notwist delves further in experimentation to produce a chaotic and cerebral song, a head nod to their inspiration, Autechre, and whose paranoid energy and compositional coherence can garner comparisons with Radiohead’s electronica rock opus, Kid A .

Later in the album, the song, “Gloomy Planets,” belies its sombre title to reveal a sweet ballad that underscores Acher’s lyrics as he plaintively questions, “why’s everything so locked up”. This pervasive theme of escape or the need to block out this bleak and monotonous society is emphasized more so in their reflective electronica track “Gravity” when he defiantly states to the world that “Old gravity won’t get me.”

As Notwtist sonically searches for a way out of the cold and urban world they live in, they sing songs that are grand in scheme and touch on allegorical elements like angels and devils to deal with various social conflicts in their lyrics; yet in spite of how broad his message is, the tone of Acher’s voice imbues his words with warmth and intimacy. As they ponder their place in this “circling” planet, Notwist has created music that speaks to the heart. The Devil, You + Me delivers a wide variety of sampled instruments, tempered concisely with driving krautrock beats and electronic sensibilities that advances them one step further in the progressive world of post-rock.

****
http://www.notwist.com

via Sylvia Adams, 9 June 2008 1:56pm | |