Germany’s iconic band The Notwist are set to make a return this month (29th January 2021 on Morr Music) with new studio album Vertigo Days. Close to the Glass, their seventh studio album, was released in 2014 so this is naturally a highly anticipated release.
One description I was sent summed it up well: “Ritualistic beats and alien pop. For those looking for the missing link between Gal Costa, Os Mutantes and Future Days-era CAN” (Future Days was released in 1973 featuring Japanese vocalist Damo Suzuki – read Helen Gregory’s reminiscences on them here which she wrote following Irmin Schmidt’s knighthood from the French Government for his work in art and culture).
Maybe helped by their seven-year hiatus, Vertigo Days does seem to be bordering on a phoenix-like status with the suggestion that it marks a new step for the band. The tracks revealed so far do seem to back that up.
Morr Music:
Their music has long been open-minded and exploratory, but from its engrossing structure, through its combination of melancholy pop, clangorous electronics, hypnotic Krautrock and driftwork ballads, to its international musical guests, Vertigo Days is both a new step for The Notwist, and a reminder of just how singular they’ve always been. Most importantly, the core trio of Markus and Micha Acher and Cico Beck are reaching out: as Markus reflects, “we wanted to question the concept of a band by adding other voices and ideas, other languages, and also question or blur the idea of national identity.”
Listen to their latest single Al Sur featuring the cult Argentine singer Juana Molina on vocals and synths…
Other guests include American multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay, American jazz clarinettist and composer Angel Bat Dawid (Tha Brothahood), Saya of Japanese pop duo Tenniscoats who makes a further appearance as a member of Japanese brass band Zayaendo….strongly recommend you also checkout Ship feat. Saya –
Here more tracks and pre-order via Bandcamp: https://thenotwist.bandcamp.com/album/vertigo-days