When you are on the music scene for some 37 odd years or so, you have two roads distinct routes you can take – stick to your guns by doing what you started out with, or keep on changing, experimenting, adapting. German band (with seven ‘regular’ members and and often a revolving cast of guests that mean it could considered be a collective too) The Notwist, who have been around since 1989, have consistently taken the latter route.
When, in 2002, they released Neon Golden, and it became their breakout album, it was after more than a decade of obscurity. Even the most ardent critics weren’t aware about the band’s background and the fact that they started out as a heavy metal outfit and had already started their constant evolution, treading into some darker indie rock territory, only to then bring something new into the electro-pop territory with that early-century mini masterpiece.
Yet, despite finally achieving critical acclaim, The Notwist didn’t stop there. Thy shifted their musical views, incorporating new musical elements. By 2021’s Vertigo Days, their previous offering, they were incorporating everything from melancholy pop to Krautrock with a delicate choice of guest including the likes of avant-jazz and electro experimenters lie Ben LaMar Gay and Juana Molina.
The shifting and moving continues on News from Planet Zombie, their latest album. That movement is not expressed in anything that could be seen as a radical change; it is more of a concentrated focus on consolidating elements they have worked with previously and a more detailed use of ‘regular,’ acoustic instruments. This choice could be heard as their take on musical nostalgia and the melancholy it brings along, which strikes a resonance through the record.
So how does that sound fit the musical line the Notwist have taken to this point? The seven-person lineup is again augmented by a cast of guests that seem to have fitted in perfectly with the concept the band have taken on here; a cosmic take on the perilous point in time we’re currently beholding and a paean to the power of the collective. In many ways, it is a sort of a musical retrospective of what the Notwist have done so far, both lyrically and musically – though the electronic aspects are a bit more subdued in favour of energetic, brass-imbued indie rock gusto, which suits the messaging.
The complex melody lines that were always one of the band’s strongest points remain; see the opening “How The Story Ends”. There are also amlpe dashes of their gentler side that crop up throughout, like the delicate acoustic float of “Snow”. Yet, when they need to go through some Krautrock inspired moves like on “Priopeller” or feel the need to go through some tight indie rock moves like on “Silver Lines”, it all involves some excellent songwriting and musical presentation.
It took half a decade for the Notwist to come up with this album, but their discography is now storied and their new records always prove to be worth the wait. Their age is not showing, just a maturity that is blossoming in the best possible manner.
