Notwist, The ‎– Neon Golden

5/5

A perfectly delightful album. Sure, it's pop music, complete with lyrics, but if you have to listen to pop music, why not make it more challenging? "One Step Inside Doesn't Mean You Understand" has all the quiet delicacy of a folk songs suddenly gone glitch. The emotional intensity of "This Room" is punctuated not only by the drums, but by the clicks and buzzes in the background as well. The strings that kick off "Solitaire" clash with the heavy percussion and the cold, affectless vocals. The classical flourishes on "Off the Rails" add a light quality that elevates the song into a romantic realm. And the moody elegance of "Scoop" rounds out the album, balancing the moderated cheeriness elsewhere. Pop should always sound this good.

Released quite a while back on German label (City Slang), this disc from Munich based Electronic Pop band, The Notwist has had a strange life. Included on numerous “best of 2002” lists, it was overlooked and neglected by music fans everywhere. It finally gained a domestic release (February 2003) on Domino Records, a label that unfortunately has equally unimpressive marketing and distribution abilities. In spite of this relative obscurity, Neon Golden stands as a shining example that great music can (on rare occasion) persevere.

Beginning in Weilheim, Germany as a heavy metal outfit, Markus and Micha Acher and Martin Messerschmid, released two albums filled with hammering drums and guitar solos (The Notwist and Nook) before sincerely considering calling it quits. Listening to those albums now, one would be hard pressed to believe this is the same band. In the mid 90s, they decided to add Martin Console and enlist his expertise working with electronic beats and production techniques. Their first album together, Shrink was a massive step forward and utterly different from anything else made at the time. It combined many unique and distinct styles, from rock, folk and electro beats and was very much ahead of its time.

Jump forward to 2002, and their release of Neon Golden. Its hypnotic rhythms and funky blips and bleeps stand in stark contrast to the evocative calmness of Markus Acher’s voice; producing a truly stunning record. Unlike many electronic bands, The Notwist have an amazing ability to give their tracks breathing room. Instead of piling on the beats, samples and overdubs, they take a minimal approach and leave you captivated and lost in contemplative thought. A decade into their career, The Notwist have created a tour de force and one of the best CDs I have heard in years.

A tremendous piece of electro-guitar-pop. Electro because their sound is filled with tiny bits, keyboards, clicks, shifts and cuts. But the guitars and vocals stay ahead of the rich texture of layer upon layer of sounds.

The whole album sounds like they just had to use every single recording track available, but it doesn't choke the sound, that remains fresh, open, translucent.

The vocals are mesmerizing, special. I'd even dare to put it simply like this: european. The way the singer utters the words seems more like adding another layer of sounds, than pure singing of text. Often dreamy, subtle, swinging, never aggressive.

a tremendous piece of pop. Because in the end, this is pure pop-music. with an edge that's sharp, long, thick and very dynamic.

I find this cd totally different from the other one's of the notwist. Actually I like this one the most. It contains a lot of great songs and the electronic music used in each song is magnificent. The cd is so intense...I was really stunned. Even if you don't really like electronic music, you Will like this record!