Music

Beatseaking Missives

by Dave Segal

German quartet the Notwist resides smack-dab in the center of that increasingly crowded zone between low-impact electronica and indie rock. Which is remarkable, considering the Notwist began life in 1989 aping American hardcore bands like Hüsker Dü, Minor Threat, and Moving Targets, as their first two albums display.

A creatively restless bunch, the Notwist's members (Markus and Micha Acher, Martin Messerschmid, and Martin Gretschmann) have long participated in a head-spinning array of group and solo side projects. An excellent primer to their formative twitchings can be heard on 1995's The Day My Favourite Insect Died. This 19-track CD showcases these studio wizards' knack for slate-gray atmospheres, malfunctioning machine textures, and gritty, lo-fi electronica. Surprising shafts of funk and hypnotic rhythms worm their way into ramshackle compositions by Rayon, Orgon, Anna Karenina, Village of Savoonga, and Console, all of which feature Notwist players in various configurations and with crafty Germans. A joyless yet fascinating aura permeates the disc, which abounds with introverted electronic tinkering.

But with 1998's Shrink and 2002's Neon Golden, the Notwist streamlined their sound, veering into more conventional alt-rock styles. On the latter work, Markus Acher's pallid vocals droop over finely wrought, if maudlin, tunes that are lightly dusted with computerized clicks and granulation. The songs unfailingly cruise in the pleasant middle ground between mildly melodic, melancholy indie rock and idyllictronica. I can imagine this playing in an IKEA outlet, gently prodding shoppers to consume with glazed looks of contentment. Neon Golden induces a Prozac-ed neutrality, a zone where sonic and emotional extremes can gain no purchase. Even their more "rocking" numbers (e.g., "This Room") don't prompt anything more than tepid toe-tapping and head-nodding (but, hey, that's just me; the rest of the planet thinks they're golden).

On a positive note, the Notwist's lyrics are refreshingly oblique, laced with subtle portraits of stifled relationships and expressions of free-floating angst. Acher's lines from "Consequence" ("Leave me paralyzed, love/Leave me hypnotized, love") are as succinct a summary of love's effects as anyone's summoned in a while. Neon Golden's three bonus cuts strip away Acher's voice and reveal the group's intricately detailed electronic and organic interweaving. "Propeller 9" almost sounds like a Rhythm & Sound homage, which is righteous in my book.

The new Different Cars and Trains EP will snare even more of the electronica demographic, with click-house revamps from Console (Gretschmann), postmodern dub versions, and a Four Tet/Manitoba rethink of "This Room" that puts it through the Prefuse 73 Cuisinart. They may win me over yet (not that they give a damn). DAVE SEGAL

The Notwist play Fri Feb 13 at Chop Suey, $12 adv.

segal@thestranger.com

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