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Rating: The way in which these ten tracks fuse completely opposite genres is simply astounding. The sound of "Neon Golden," the second work by the German band, undoubtedly marks a remarkable achievement, to be admired for its maturity and perfection, which nonetheless do not stifle the freshness and spontaneity typical of The Notwist.
A soft electronic base alternates at times with a strictly indie drum, thin and nuanced guitars are blended with "Radiohead-style" samples, all led by a voice as soft as a whisper just a millimeter from your ears. Placing a five-minute ballad at the opening might seem a bit daring, but "Consequence" unexpectedly proves to be a brilliant overture that opens the doors to the enchanting "One Step Inside Doesn't Mean You Understand" and subsequently to the sparkling pop of "Pilot".
Poetic as summer rain, "Pick Up the Phone" will literally make you lose your mind with its thrilling introduction, but it's further along that the album's gem hides: "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." "One with the Freaks" is the last small jolt before leaving the finale to the folk and post-rock of the eponymous "Neon Golden" and "Off the Rails." An excellent demonstration of stylistic maturity and creative skill.
Tracklist Lyrics 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 RinaldiACHTUNG
"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.’"
