- Audio CD (4 Feb 2002)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: City Slang
- ASIN: B00005NY9B
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 52,299 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product details |
Track Listings
| 1. One Step Inside |
| 2. Pilot |
| 3. Pick Up The Phone |
| 4. Trashing Days |
| 5. This Room |
| 6. Solitaire |
| 7. One With The Freaks |
| 8. Neon Golden |
| 9. Off The Rails |
| 10. Consequence |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Technically Neon Golden, the sixth album from Germans The Notwist, should be an unequivocal disaster. Laced with meandering acoustic guitars, mournful vocals, post-punk rock, crisp electronica, flutes, dub bass, saxophones, the occasional breakbeat and banjo, the potential for their tender tunes to descend into a chaotic and indulgent nightmare of arty noodling is exceptionally high. However, having spent 15 months in the studio putting their unlikely components together, the outcome couldn't be more transfixing or beautiful; a dreamy world of atmospheric lo-fi lullabies, where hazy pop melodies drift by on an eccentric flow of sensual bleeps, whooshes and crackles. Even when Neon Golden strays towards more traditional rock, Markus Acher's downtrodden yet hopeful vocals, and his achingly sweet melodies persist, as do the sumptuous atmospheric add-ons that link vaguely New Order-ish moments "Pilot" and "One With The Freaks" to the title track's ambient electronic pulses and breathy saxophones. Yet nothing is more magical or odd than "Trashing Days", where they manage to make pneumatic space age sound effects rubbing against scraping beats, woozy horns and a quietly plucked banjo, sound like the most natural thing in the world. --Dan Gennoe
Review
Getting their start over ten years ago in Wilheim, Germany, The Notwist have always been a band that play by their own rules. While the others were jumping on bandwagon after bandwagon, from shoegazer to acid jazz, nu-metal to techno, The Notwist never bothered with any of that. For better or for worse, they discovered their unique sound early on and have stuck with it. Whereas the band previously seemed to be stuck in a sort of Teutonic version of a Tortoise type groove, their individual experiences with side projects such as Tied & Tickled Trio, Console, Village of Savoonga, etc. have strengthened their vision. Neon Golden sees the band flirt with dubby electronica, sparse banjos and even de-constructed classical music in an excellent marriage between minimalist rock and soulful electronics. It seems to be a much more emotionally led release than some of their previous work and thats a pretty impressive achievement considering that this album took 15 months to release. But, while the Notwist are often known for their minimalist and sometimes monotonal work, some surprisingly pretty pop songs emerge, like the upbeat Pilot or the beautifully melancholic Consequence. You know this place&..Youve been here before sings Markus Acher on Pick Up The Phone, summing up this CD perfectly. You have, but dont take that as a bad thing. Take it like you're returning to your favourite restaurant or bar. You know the crowd. You know the music. You dont even have to think about having a good time. It just happens. While this album is altogether nothing groundbreakingly new for the band, it still retains enough twists and turns to make a worthwhile addition to your collection. With any luck, the band will forge ahead in their side-projects and bring those experiences back to The Notwist just as they did with this album. Good stuff all around and in addition to this, we suggest checking out their other excellent side-projects as well, especially Tied and Tickled Trios EA1 EA2 on Drag City. Its all good. --Olli Siebelt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Make no mistake, this is an indie-pop album. If, like me, you are looking for something a bit more leftfield, you might want to reconsider. This is not to discourage though - a very fine indie-pop album it is, with instantly likeable melodies buoyed by constantly imaginative and tight production, laregely informed by electronica. 'One Step Inside' builds on inauspicious acoustic beginnings and builds into subtle layers of crackling electonic fug, underpinned by a wood-block rhythm. 'Pilot' is instantly recognisable, a piece of classic pop charged by a electro rhythm that surges and swoops in all the right places. Other highlights include the avant-pop of 'Trashing Days' and the cut-up violins and breakbeat of 'Solitaire'. Always engaging and accessible - each song is carefully crafted with a whole raft of styles and instruments (from flutes to banjos and neo-drum 'n' bass rhythmic stylings). But the focus tends to rest heavily on the vocals, a kind of Germanic Belle and Sebastien, sometimes a little high up in the mix for comfort. This, the German version, also features three instrumental bonus tracks - but these are more afterthoughts than fully-realised compositions. Like this? Also try labelmates and affiliates Lali Puna's 'Faking the Books'.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The Scorpions are by no means the finest German band to have ever existed and their contribution to music didn't really stretch much farther than 'Wind of Change'. That said, it is difficult to think of many German exports that have proved successful, Kraftwerk are an obvious choice, and more recently Timo Haas, but other than that Die Fantastischen Vier are the only band to stick in my mind. Give a warm welcome, then, to Notwist. They have been around making some quite indifferent music to the pleasure of a very small minority since the early 90s. With the release of 'Neon Golden' though they have become serious players who can produce enigmatic, tranquil yet energetic electronica.
It is often bewildering, strange and complex but at no point does it ever get too clever for its own good or stretch itself too far. Though to all extent and purposes a dance album, this is gifted with a beating heart and genuine sentiment which sets it apart from most of its contemporaries.
Like Air and New Order, Notwist have created a living being out what is often the musical equivalent of a tinman. The variety and combination of sounds on 'Neon Golden' is a major factor in this, 'Trashing Days' combines banjo with synth effects, horns and strings to make a quite unique, otherworldly sound.
Every track has its own 'special effect' which sets it apart from the others, but each at the same time is linked to its predecessor by the whirr of a synth or the ongoing murmur of a bass. Despite its vast variety of sound though everything fits together perfectly. This cohesion is provided by Acher's fragile voice, reminiscent of David Kitt, which has the flow and melodies required to carry each track in the right direction.
This is a quite beautiful album, reminiscent of New Order at times and Kraftwerk at others, but significantly for the most part they sound quite unlike anything else. Though not to everybody's taste, this should be rewarded by an investigation if not a buy.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This has catapulted in as an album that I just cannot stop listening to.
Mellow electronic music with syncopated beats and stuttering rhythms. Nothing new there, and certainly nothing to set it apart from Kid A, Aphex Twin, Björk at al.
The stroke of genius is the way, through what must have surely been a massive undertaking, the band have layered on top of this countless strings, banjo and piano to create the most wonderfully moving melodies I have heard in I don't know how long. Combine this wonderful musical result with some of the most beautiful, heartfelt, nursery rhyme-esque lyrics - sung pefectly and you have a true classic of an album. To think this band started out as a trash rock band boggles the mind.
One day all music will sound like this.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
German avant-pop at its finest!
Neon Golden is a leftfield indie-pop album buoyed by constantly imaginative and tight production, largely informed by electronica. Read more
Published on 27 May 2008 by Demob Happy
German melodies
This album exudes a class which i have not heard, or encountered since the oral poems of Homer. This is German poetry on a level with the Catullan Epigrams, or Propertian couplets. Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2004
Step Inside
Call myself a music fan?! I had never heard of NoTwist until recentley, the sublime "Pick Up The Phone" entered my head and is now destined never to leave. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2002 by Matthew Caffyn
electro pop for those on the sidelines
a beautiful cd for those who like electro pop but are afraid to dive headfirst into the new mellow euro dance scene. Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2002
Pure beauty...
You just cannot get yourself to listen to just one song, you have to listen the whole thing. Full of ideas and still so simple sounding. Deep and minimalistic lyrics. Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2002
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