The Notwist – The Devil, Me + You

I only found out about The Notwist recently after searching for something to fill the void left by the lack of any more Postal Service material. This is their first album in six years and the follow up to the critically acclaimed Neon Golden. I haven’t heard that one just yet so I can’t compare the two, but this does however put me in the position of judging The Devil. Me + You on its own merits.

I have already mentioned Postal Service but The Notwist aren’t to similar in sound to them, they are closer to Death Cab For Cutie or I Was A Cub Scout. They perfectly combine mellow indie pop with electronics. For me The Notwist are everything I wanted the new Death Cab album to be but failed at. I’m a sucker for indie with an electronic twist and The Notwist pull this off beautifully. Maybe one of the best examples I have heard in a very long time. Apparently they use to be a bit of a metal band but I will believe that when I hear it, I’m very sure its pure fact though.

The Devil, Me + You is full of sweet and tender songs, the German twang to Markus Acher’s voice reminds me of Kraftwerk but with a load of emotion instead of robotics. There are orcestral moments and big fat electro beats, along with accoustic sturrming. These fit together so beautifuly and in harmoney with one another, which can be hard to achive. There isn’t a bad track on The Devil, Me + You, a doubt any of them will blow you away either though. I will quite happly put this on to relax to either late at night or durring a lazy afternoon, its just perfect for these moments. It trumps Death Cab For Cutie’s Narrow Stairs by quite some way, as the lyrics don’t stray into the 6th form poetry relm and the music The Notwist make is a hell of a lot more inventive yet still as assesable.

My favourite tunes are the single Where In The World with its orcestral sweeps and electro beats. The tune I keep going back to is the fantastic Alphabet, which is an intence number full of building noise skatting drums like something you might have heard on Radiohead’s Kid A and the most beautiful vocal mellodies. Gravity is another highlight just for its sweet sound and straightforward good song writing. I really like the tune On Planet Off for its other worldly bass and ticks.

The Notwist have made a cracker with The Devil, Me + You it is worthy of a listen and a little place in your heart. It wont blow you away but it probibly wont disapoint either. When the mellow mood takes you grab this and let in envelop you in its rich elctronic indie warmth.