The Notwist

The Devil, You + Me (City Slang)

By Dana Stewart
Published: April 25th, 2008 | 4:24pm

At long last, German post-rock outfit the Notwist has graced the alternative music community with another full-length album. The Devil, You + Me is the much anticipated follow-up to their widely adored 2002 full-length, Neon Golden (Domino). Neon Golden is full of catchy, poppy, electronic-based indie rock, and will stay on many “favorite albums” lists for decades. So what took so long to release a follow-up?

First of all, the Notwist is clearly not a big-label, commercially driven band, so the only motivation to make another record would be genuine inspiration. And, since 2002, members of the Notwist have been involved in nearly a dozen non-Notwist musical projects, having families, and generally maturing to a more refined group of musicians. But in 2007, it was time for the four guys from Germany to make another Notwist record, to the joy of fans the world over.

Those looking for dance-inspiring hits from Neon Golden like “Pick Up the Phone” or “Pilot” won’t find them on The Devil, You + Me. The change in the Notwist’s sound could be compared to the change in Radiohead from The Bends to a few albums later, Amnesiac; while Neon Golden had songs that made you want to sing along, the songs on Devil are more atmospheric, otherworldly, at times difficult, but in the end far more effective.

The first track, “Good Lies,” is the closest thing to a single on Devil. Where a 2002 Notwist single would climax with a thumping dance rhythm, the closest thing “Good Lies” has to a crescendo is the subtle addition of a hi-hat about half-way through. There’s little evidence of pop sensibility on Devil, it’s been replaced with genre-defying percussive and ambient sounds, bordering on the avant-garde territory inhabited by Radiohead.

The Notwist of 2008 is a better, more mature band than the Notwist of 2002. The title track, “The Devil, You + Me,” is a good microcosm of the album; it starts out as little more than some soft synthesized noise, some of which sounds like a mistake. But then lead singer Markus Acher comes in with some simple acoustic chords and his trademark German-accented voice, and the rest of the song slowly grows, adding unexpected sounds and instruments that almost seem distracting, but then coalesces back to the guitar and major chords. The Devil, You + Me as evidenced by its title track, leaves one with a feeling of pleasant, yet cautious, optimism.

Here’s to hoping we don’t have to wait quite as long for the next one.

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