the notwist

neon golden

‘When considering the options, the most unlikely combination of musical styles might be something like this: mid-20th century folk, electronica, free jazz, and pop. Leave it to the German geniuses of The Notwist to make this seemingly sour succession sound simply astounding. Not only do they do it well, but they make you wonder why people have not been doing this for years.

Such a layering of distinct levels of sound together may seem like something that Reggie and the Full Effect might do as a joke on some obscure comp somewhere. This is no joke, though. The Notwist is as real as it gets.

The Notwist is like that kid on campus whose name is known by all students and faculty alike. It can permeate through even the thickest skin of all musical crowds and make friends. No matter how diverse a scene, this record fits in and makes everyone feel at home, no matter if it is a group of hardcore kids, the transient club goers, industrial crowd (do they still exist?), or the pop loving younger generations.

“Neon Golden” is a record akin with Sigur Ros’s “( )” and the Smashing Pumpkin’s pop side of “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” (ie. “1979,” “Thirty-Three”).  At the same time, it sounds like some of the rawest, oldest, Woodie Guthrie tracks recorded,

As Michal McKean’s character, David St.Hubbins, said in Spinal Tap, “It is such a fine line between stupid and clever.” Although said in jest, this statement does have some validity to it. Clever may just be a matter of fine tuning that which is stupid. Rather, something potentially clever may come off as stupid if not fine-tuned. This record is a delicate balance of numerous styles. It comes off as very clever. Although, if any of these styles dominated over the other, even a slight bit, “Neon Golden” would be a horrible concept album.

Fortunately, the levels are set correctly. The record is a brilliant layering of textures, where each texture shines through in its own rite.

This is the magnum opus of a band that has been around for almost 14 years now, surviving most of its contemporaries. Starting as a progressive/post-hardcore/heavy metal band in 1989 The Notwist has slowly progressed to the level of being musical savants. In addition, The Notwist has generated numerous side-projects, and a continuous flow of bastard musical children whose lineage it is difficult to trace (including work the band did on parts of Bjork’s “Vespertine”).

A closed-minded listen might put this band in the category of art-rock but nothing could be further from the truth at this stage of the game. “Neon Golden” is a fluid dream of musical landscapes that make Georgia O’Keefe’s rendering of transcendent beauty mere childsplay.