The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me

The Devil You + Me is The Notwist’s first album since Neon Golden – a record that’s widely regarded to be so good, that it’s easy to assume why the Bavarians have taken six years to follow it up. As singer Markus Acher assured us recently, however, this has not been time spent dwelling on past glories. They’ve spent this time working with the luminaries of Frisco’s anticon. roster as well as driving multiple side projects in their native Germany. Tellingly, the result is a fresh and inventive album that’s packed full of ideas whilst remaining faithful to the formula that’s been good to them for ten years now.

The programming nous of Martin Gretschmann, aka Console, coupled with Acher’s affinity for classic songwriting is a combination that when not executed to perfection, inevitably sounds glitchy and awkward. Luckily for The Notwist, and indeed for anyone that will come into contact with this fine and beautiful record, they’re proven masters plainly performing at the top of their game.

Things are done with temperance amongst this quartet: from Acher’s contained but effective vocals to the skilfully and tastefully deployed production of Gretschmann. Resultantly, there’s not a track that sounds overly congested or excessively sparse, and it’s this naturally struck balance that helps make The Devil… a brilliant start to finish album.

Sure, there are still standout tracks: the standard setting and reflective opener, Good Lies, complete with scenester aping refrain: “let’s just imitate the real, until we find a better one.” The gorgeous, claustrophobic (the lyrics throughout the album convey the idea of the band feeling trapped in their surroundings) Gloomy Planet, and the stripped down beauty of the title track and the album closer Gone, Gone, Gone. But The Devil, You + Me is undoubtedly best appreciated as a singular composition. It’s a slow burning classic, a master class in consistency and by this scribe's reckoning, it will take a wave of similarly compelling releases to keep this one from the upper echelons of the end of year lists.