By Stan Cierlitsky
Today, The Notwist, one of my favorite bands, finally release their long-anticipated new album, Vertigo Days on the Morr Music label. It's been six years since they released their last album, Close to the Glass. You should check out their amazing song "Kong" from that record.
Now, for those of you paying attention, this might not be that big of a surprise since six of the album's 14 tracks have already been released, starting about five months ago with "Ship, the lead single. To me, that song was the perfect way to introduce people to this album, because it reminded me of one of the many collaborations that members of The Notwist have been embarking on over the years, mainly the recent collaboration under the name Spirit Fest. Spirit Fest has released two albums over the last three years. The band is made up of the Japanese duo the Tenniscoats and members of The Notwist. So it's really cool to hear the Spirit Fest sound morph back into a Notwist song.
What I think you will find as you start peeling the onion on this album is the band's desire to continue expanding their vast experimental sound, and their desire to include other people in that journey. Of the 14 listed tracks, five have listed featured artists. At first I was a little worried, as I have really wanted to hear a new Notwist album for a long time, and I didn't really want them sharing the spotlight. But I have to admit I couldn't be happier with the result.
[Kenixfan: Worth mentioning that one of the most unexpected guests on the record is jazz musician Angel Bat Dawid, whose The Oracle was my top album of 2019.]
Now, with that being said, my favorite tack on the album is a classic straight-forward Notwist banger called "Exit Strategy to Myself". In fact, elements of this song remind me of their pre-Neon Golden-era where things were a bit less refined. And, weirdly, it still fits in perfectly with this orchestral, soundtrack-y production.
The next track on the album (and also a prior single) is called "Where You Find Me Now". This track takes me right back to Neon Golden. I should probably admit that release would most likely be on my desert island discs-playlist, so I definitely love this song too. What's cool is how the song breaks down at the end and flows right into "Ships" perfectly. This is the kind of album that makes me want to go back to the days when I mostly listened to albums and not just handpicked songs. Vertigo Days is a journey that should be taken as a whole.
Another of my favorites is "Sans Soleil". It's another typical (less experimental) Notwist song that fits in perfectly in their post-Neon Golden-era catalog. The last comment I want to make about this album is just how deep and complex it is. I have listened to this straight through about 10 times (mostly while hiking in the woods) and every time I've listened, I've discovered some new sound or nuance. This album is definitely worth a deep dive.
Vertigo Days is out today via Morr Music.
More details on The Notwist via these links.
[Photo: Morr Music]