The Notwist is German band that has gone through several different sounds over the years. Their first album to gain a real following in the states, Neon Golden, takes influence from a number of different genres. While I would say it is primarily an indie rock album, it has a heavy reliance on drum machines and electronic effects. The album has a surprising amount of hidden variety despite very much having a sound and tone that is largely unique to this album.
The overall tone of the album can be hard to pin down. At times the album can feel depressing, like singer Markus Acher was going through some shit at the time. At other times the album feels as if it is intentionally trying give a lighter edge to offset the somber tone of itself. The electronics are most often used to set the cooler tones, while violins that appear occasionally throughout bring a more cozy warmth. Overall, this isn't an album that will warm you as the weather gets colder, but it will be right there with you.
One more thing, the last 3 tracks (Scoop, Propeller 9, and Formiga) were added for the American release and were initially part of a separate EP. Go ahead and listen to them, but I do think they're a little different from the rest of the album. It's also good to remember that Consequence is the actual album closer, because it fits that role fantastically.
This is a pretty good album, but it's missing something for me. It's very pleasant to listen to and I think I like the parts where it gets very hypnotic - This Room is maybe my favorite song on the record for that reason. But songs like Consequence are not nearly as strong (it's pretty Coldplay-y, but weaker).
ReplyDeleteThe vocals are a bit off putting for me, too. They just feel kind of weak and restrained.
I dunno what else to say on this one. It's a cool album with some very unique and enchanting elements. The mix of electronic and "live" instrumentation is well done and well balanced. But it's just missing something...I wish it took on more of a kraut element and let the hypnotic rhythms come forward more.
I'm going to mainly talk about the instrumentals, because that seems like a big part of this album. There's actually more variation on this album than I initially noticed. They seem to mix up the instruments every so often, which is nice. I liked the banjo on Trashing Days. The combination of guitar and drum machine effects reminded me a lot of that Cornelius album that I shared a couple weeks ago. Despite all this, there is still a lot of sameness in the sound, perhaps just a tad more than I would prefer. I will say that it helps contribute to the dissonant and mundane themes of some of the lyrics. Fortunately, the string instrumentals help add some vibrancy and emotion to the otherwise stale sounding voice of the vocalist.
ReplyDeleteThe album was longer than I would have liked. The last few tracks, while nice to add some instrumental songs, seemed a little unnecessary. I think the album could have ended greatly with Consequence. I did enjoy the songs, they just seemed out of place. They could have released them as a separate EP or as B-sides or something, maybe.
Anyway, I found this album nice to listen to, so thanks!
Favorite tracks: This Room, Solitaire, Propeller 9
Sorry for the late response! I have mixed feelings about this album. Gonna echo everyone else's responses and say This Room is the best track on the album for me. I agree with Sam, I wasn't a big fan of the vocals. I think part of the problem with the vocals was that the music overpowered his voice but I'm not sure if that's intentional or not.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think the album lacked consistency and it felt like they just put a bunch of sounds together without really thinking about how all the tracks would sound back to back. I think for me what's missing is a cohesive thread to pull it all together for me. Other than that, none of the tracks were off putting or anything so it was a pleasant listen.
I can't say that I really disliked this album and I think it grew on me over the week, but it wasn't really all that exciting. I can't really put my finger on what about the album felt so lacking, but part of it was definitely that a lot of the songs sounded a lot like knockoffs of other popular indie bands. I was constantly thinking "wow this almost nearly sounds like a radiohead/coldplay/deerhunter song but it's just like not as good".
ReplyDeleteA high point of the album for me was "Solitaire". The mixing was really cool when listening on headphones and the fuzz sound was neat and unique. Unique sounds that were scattered around the album were probably my favorite parts. On the other hand, wow I hate "Neon Golden". It sounded hokey and lasted way too long. There was just no reason really for there to be a banjo on this album and it seemed like it was trying just a bit too hard.
Anyway, it was definitely in interesting album to try to put my finger on. It kept frustrating me but I wasn't disliking, so not bad.
So I listened this album a few times. The first time I loved it, the second time I liked it, the third time I felt like it was just okay. It reminded me a lot of the indie pop/folktronica music from the early 2002, and while a lot of that music was relatively influential, when I look back at all the music released in that time period in that genre, a lot if really sounds the same to me.
ReplyDeleteThis album did have some really nice parts though. I forget which track it was, I think it was 3, but when he busted out the Mellotron the first time, I was in love with the album (and I kind of wish the rest of the album was as fun as that part). I also disagree with Nora about the banjo, I kind of enjoyed it. Especially the one track that opens with banjo and the rest of the instruments kind of build in as the track goes on.
Overall though, I thought it was alright. Nothing too great though. Probably sounded better in 2002, but I was only 5 so I wouldn't know. I don't think it's aged too well.