Notwist Devil, You + Me CD

Personnel: Kalle Zeier, Max Punktezahl (guitar); Anna Viechtl (harp); Matthew Lonson, Josa Gerhard, Emmanuel Hahn (violin); Martin Stupka, Magdalena Brune (viola); Katie Lonson, Isabelle Klemt (cello); Oliver Roth (flute); Andi Haberl (melodica, drums); Daniel Glatzel (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Gabriel Insuasty (oboe); Sophie Bernado (bassoon); Johannes Schleiermacher (baritone saxophone); Fidelis Hentze, Aki Sebastian Ruhl (trumpet); Gerhard Gschlössl (trombone); Carl Oesterhelt (organ, percussion); Karl Ivar Refseth (vibraphone); Andi Waelti (double bass); Saam Schlamminger (tombak).
Audio Mixer: Olaf Opal.
Recording information: Alien Research Center, Weilheim; Teldec Studio, Berlin, Germany.
More than six years after the Notwist first garnered international acclaim with the European release of NEON GOLDEN, the German indie-rock ensemble returned with 2008's THE DEVIL, YOU + ME. As with NEON GOLDEN as well as with the group's splinter projects (Lali Puna, Ms. John Soda, Console), electronics are a key element (see the pulsing "Where In This World"), but the band also incorporates plenty of arresting guitar lines and organic rhythms into the mix, as on the warm, welcoming "Good Lies" and the jagged "Alphabet." Tying everything together is singer/guitarist Markus Acher's emotive, reed-thin voice, which is immediately distinctive in its mannered Teutonic way, and gives THE DEVIL its heart and soul.
After all that time spent developing, or (to be more kind) bouncing from place to place, beginning with scraggly post-hardcore (The Notwist, Nook) and then moving to relatively streamlined and occasionally melodic post-hardcore (12) and then abstract electronics (Shrink), the Notwist delivered a smart and song-oriented synthesis of the organic and synthetic on Neon Golden. And then, for six years, nothing, unless a remix EP and a soundtrack contribution count. The length between Neon Golden and its follow-up was twice the length of time between any two other Notwist albums, a gap that can be partially attributed to the members' several outside projects. Despite involvement in a number of varied recordings since their last album, The Devil, You + Me is as much a natural extension of Neon Golden as Nook was an extension of The Notwist. As subdued as ever, all the while retaining a sense of tension that has been a constant throughout its discography, the band makes only slight refinements. The most notable change is the incorporation of the 21-member Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra, who add further intensity to tightly wrapped songs like "Where in the World" (where escape is sought but impossible to achieve) and "Hands on Us" (which might be the album's most affecting and downcast song, despite its lyrical vagueness). The album could pass as a slightly more dramatic, comparatively spindly, and male-fronted alternate of Scary World Theory, the excellent 2001 release from central Notwist member Markus Acher's Lali Puna. It has that same slightly unnerved but ultimately comforting effect, and like Neon Golden, you might want to take it everywhere with you, even when you can only replay it in your mind. ~ Andy KellmanSpin (p.114) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "On 'Where in the World,' shivering, insectlike strings give way to the thump of a synthetic heartbeat..."
Magnet (p.117) - "[They] have woven a 20-piece orchestra into an already rich sonic field in which electronic beats and dubby effects co-exist with crisp guitar pop."
The Wire (p.59) - "[U]nderstated vocals dolefully delivered over layered songs whose charm becomes clear with prolonged exposure."
Q (Magazine) (p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[They] manage to continue the evolution, adding extra layers of mesmeric, clicking rhythm and gauzy electronics to wistful melodies..."
Paste (magazine) (p.77) - "'Good Lies' is driven by unfussy guitars and drums. Acher's simple vocal melodies infiltrate the brain....This is lightning-seamed cloud music, with digital dissonance and strings hovering over craggy, pop-industrial beatscapes."
Pitchfork (Website) - "THE DEVIL, YOU & ME's stellar opening salvo, 'Good Lies,' begins with a bright, jangly guitar riff and and a pounding floor-tom beat that mainline Sonic Youth's DAYDREAM NATION."
Clash (magazine) (p.113) - "Opening with the building 'Good Lies,' it marks their return to staggering effect and indicates there's still endless ideas flying around Markus Archer's cranium."