By Stan Cierlitsky
When I first heard that The Notwist had a new album coming, I couldn't have been happier. Their last album Vertigo Days came out in 2021, and it was so good. Well, good news and bad news. Yes, The Notwist have a new album out, but it's an album of remixes, B-sides and rare tracks. Magnificent Fall, out November 14, has its appeal. For a pretty die-hard fan like me, there aren't many things here I haven't heard before, but it certainly is nice getting them all packaged and arranged so beautifully.
To me the heart of this album is the first five tracks. The first and fifth tracks, "One of These Days" and "Avalanche", respectively, are beautiful, perfect instrumentals. The second track (and title track) is definitely my favorite of the songs here. It was a B-side to the 2014 EP Run Run Run. Next is the excellent Grizzly Bear Remix of "Boneless". I always loved the original, but this has to be one of my favorite remixes of all time. I just love how the drums kick in. Lastly, "Blank Air" was a single that was released back in 2010. I always liked it. It felt like a lost track to the perfect 2002 album Neon Golden.
Speaking of that one, last year the deluxe edition finally came out. It was amazing listening to that album again start to finish, and more importantly it included four remixes and four unreleased tracks (see I told you I was a die-hard fan). Included there (and here) is the excellent instrumental "Red Room". It was also released back in 2004 on the Different Cars and Trains EP.
There are a lot of good, diverse songs on this collection. The ones I already mentioned are all great. The only songs that are actually unreleased here are an extended version of "Alien Research Center" and "Das Verschwinder", which is a really short instrumental.
Finally, since I an such a die-hard fan, and love all things Acher brothers (Micha and Markus being two of the main members of The Notwist), I just wanted to point out a few gems from the last several years. First, check out Nostam + Rayon's 2021 EP From Nowhere to North. Also from 2021 is the amazing dub track "Everybody Knows" by Dumbo Tracks. Lastly, check out "What About Us" from this year's DJ Koze album Music Can Hear Us.
Magnificent Fall by The Notwist is out now. Details via Bandcamp.
[Photo: Bandcamp]