Customer Reviews

Notwist

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Notwist is one of my favorite bands, this is there first of 4 cd's they released. I started listening to them on there release of 12, an indie/post-rock album with very catchy melodies. This album however is very Heavy, it sounds like a clash between the old Metallica albums and the old Dinosaur Jr. albums. I would check out this album of you like 80's indie metal. If you are into Tortoise and Stereolab check out there newer CD's. Thanks

I believe this was the first album put out by The Notwist. As some of the other reviewers have noted, it's totally different than the bleeps and ticks of Neon Golden. However, if you listen to all four of their albums, starting with this one, you'll see an evolution of style from the guitar thrash of this album to the drum machine modulations of Neon Golden (from which the Postal Service has borrowed heavily). Their second album, 12, is very guitar driven, but with some elements of jazz thrown in abruptly. Shrink still uses a lot of guitar, but also starts mixing in drum loops and uses still more jazz sounding instrumentation.

The point is, the Notwist is a band, not a style or a genre. I was lucky to have picked up on them while living in Germany in the early 90's when they released a single that is on 12, a Robert Palmer cover of 'Johnny and Mary'. Very cool, and a great video if you can track it down. All their albums are worth investing in, but don't expect one to sound anything like the other.

I became interested in this band after reading a review praising Neon Golden and listening to a couple songs from that album. I liked them, but that album, and most of the others, were expensive imports or just unavailable at the time, so I ended up with this one, which is quite different from what I'd heard. Folks seem to think Neon Golden is like Kid A; I dunno about that but I can say this one doesn't suggest any Radiohead comparisons. It's all harsh guitars and pounding drums and only the occasional dispassionate lyric--metal, I guess, but I'm not much on the genre names so forgive me if I simply call it good.

Taking a chance at a local record store, I bought this album.
Taking the cd and throwing it in the trash, I hated this album.
I was a big fan of Neon Golden, and I had no clue about this first album. It is completely different and lacks any diversity in the music. Make sure you listen to it before you make the purchase.