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What happens when a hard rock band gives up powerful riffs to embrace electronics?
The Notwist raced through the '90s at full speed; on average, they released an album every two years, incorporating as much guitar ferocity and Generation X dissatisfaction as possible.
In fact, their musical turning point began with Shrink, an album in which elements (until then) alien to the band's sound were introduced, even branching into free jazz.
The fury of the German quartet softened to such an extent that the emotions with which the songs were infused managed to emerge with greater pathos.
It is precisely in 2002 that they released their masterpiece par excellence: Neon Golden.
Despite the radical change, their formula of "better to remove than to weigh down" continues to make the sound intimate and accessible.
The guitars are composed, not dominating but complementing the subtle voice of Markus Acher splendidly, right from the opening One Step Inside Doesn’t Mean You Understand. The instrument finds more space and depth in the title track Neon Golden and in One With The Freaks.
This latter gem also finds a place in the soundtrack of the movie L'amico di famiglia (Sorrentino), in an anguishing finale. One With The Freaks showcases depth and frenzy at the same time, a search for humanity in a circus of illusions and disillusions.
The more artificial vein of the project is left to the rhythm of Pick Up The Phone (a successful single), which as usual displays the plurality of intent.
The two sides are represented by coldness and lyrics, seemingly centered on a failed relationship. After repeatedly absorbing the album, I can state from my perspective that the message carries a more universal than romantic nature.
There is alienation from reality and resentment. There is everything with which we are imbued.
Cold electronics and existential dilemma. The two sides that the Notwist have managed to blend with class.
The ending Consequence summarizes and amplifies this sensation, the mood silently explodes with the words “I’m not in this movie, I’m not in this song”. It underscores the consequences of actions, and the piece feels like a litany, an acceptance of loss with a smile and awareness.
In reality, there's nothing to smile about, the melancholy is abundant in this instance that closes the shutters and hands the Notwist their rightful reward.
“Leave me paralyzed, love”
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 Pilot (04:30)
He's living next the rails.
He can tell you things of different cars and trains.
Now he's trying the whole day
to SWITCH off time by causing train-delay.
Could be enough
if only he's the pilot
once a day.
Could be enough
if only he's the pilot
once a day.
Not a word to compensate.
Not a sentence to describe this
desperate state. Not a picture to
compare. We step into a room of
opaque air.
Could be enough
if only we are pilots
once a day.
03 Pick Up the Phone (03:58)
You know this place,
you know this gloom?
We've been here before.
When life is a loop,
you're in a room without a door.
Pick up the phone and answer me at last.
Today I will step out of your past.
""Trouble that we've come to know will stay with us"",
with every step it slowly grows.
Rub off the rust.
Pick up the phone and answer me at last.
Today I will step out of your past.
04 Trashing Days (03:26)
Then i come in,
they go mad, hit my nose and
hit my back, break me every
single bone, throw me out just
like a stone. It's the corner. it's
the dress, small the town and
big the mess, that I cause with
every step, but still I walk,
nonetheless. They're skipping
backwards, they're thrashing
days, is that all they're
believing in? Smash my head
to make it spin. It won't change
so come with me, just with your
eyes I will see. just with your
arms I can hold, and keep
away them dump and cold.
06 Solitaire (03:31)
We're more than
overwhelmed
by hundreds of hugs and
a million good words.
We are
satisfied
from monday til friday
and on sunday we cry.
But we like it
from that point of view,
so we stay here and bare until dawn everyday.
And we stay here and bare everyday.
We never ever lie.
From ten in the morning
we are honest til nine.
We are overcute.
We never will manage to be rude only twice.
But we like it from
that point of view.
So we stay here and bare until dawn
everyday. And we stay
here and bare everyday.
07 One With the Freaks (03:40)
You'll no longer be kissed and kind
as you long for intuition
as you have to learn the lesson twice
You'll no longer be kissed and kind
as you long for intuition
as you have to say the password twice
have you ever?
have you ever been all messed up?
have you ever?
Have you ever?
Have you ever been all messed up?
Have You ever?
You're the pincard
You're the lifeguard
You're the information guide
Things look much bigger on your knees
on your knees
Miss the signal
Miss the signpost
Miss the exits to it all
And all of a sudden
you were one with the freaks
Have you ever?
Have you ever been all messed up?
Have You ever?
Have you ever?
Have you ever been all messed up?
Have You ever?
08 Neon Golden (05:56)
Neon golden like all the lights.
Neon Golden. Don't leave me
here for I glow. Neon golden.
09 Off the Rails (03:30)
We're off the rails. Now we are
trains ourselves. No wait and see
We're off this place doesn't mean
we're somewhere else. This is all
I know: keeping still to watch the
engines cone and go.
10 Consequence (05:13)
You're the colour,
you're the movement and the spin.
Never could it stay with me
the whole day long.
Fail with consequence, lose with eloquence and smile.
I'm not in this movie
I'm not in this song.
Never leave me paralyzed, love,
leave me hypnotized, love.
You're the colour,
you're the movement and the spin.
Never could it stay with me
the whole day long.
Fail with consequence, lose with eloquence and smile.
You're not in this movie
You're not in this song.
Never leave me paralyzed, love,
leave me hypnotized, love.
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Other reviews
By LOR15
"The Notwist produce songs through the successive addition of parts and fragments carefully sought out, among samples and real guitars, managing to synthesize a totally original form."
"An intimate, delicate album, turned in on itself, that spins on itself, talking about rooms from which one will never leave."
By Mellon
The way in which these ten tracks fuse completely opposite genres is simply astounding.
"This Room," the track we all would have expected from Yorke and company if in 2000 they hadn’t ventured into the experimentation of "Kid A."
