***Before Neon Golden there was the groundbreaking Shrink, and before Shrink there was 12. Originally released in 1995, 12 was an adventurous double LP and was THE NOTWIST's transition record between their earlier punk days and their later electronica. Influenced by the likes of Dinosaur Jr and Built to Spill, 12 was an indie rock classic that has been out of print on vinyl since the late 90’s. With original copies now trading for upwards of $100, Outer Battery is very excited to be releasing this double LP in North America.
2XLP $20.95
01/22/2016
“On this album, they employ the services of noted laptop arranger and future member Martin Gretschmann (he of Console notoriety), who puts his programming skills to work on about half of the tracks, and as a result, you’re offered a glimpse at what kind of band The Notwist will become. Gretschmann’s influence is most evident on a handful of songs: The beautifully dark “Torture Day” employs a subtle techno accompaniment and tiny hints of loops underneath the sparse drums and guitar, as Markus finally has a sound that’s best suited for his thin voice. “Noah” has more of a laptop feel, as Gretschmann’s Autechre-like aural collages start to become more audible, more and more intertwined with the sparse arrangement of guitar and vocals. The closing track “12” has more of an organic feel, as the trio manage to sound like Radiohead before even the Oxford band themselves started to sound like Radiohead, with its dark chorus, and its sudden shift to jazzy improvisation, with strings and bass clarinet (that jazzy sound comes into full fruition on the band’s next album). It’s not a consistent record, but 12 marks a massive leap for a band who started off as sounding so one-dimensional.” - Popmatters
CD $12.00
09/16/2014
“1992’s Nook continues the band’s evolution, but only very minimally. On this album, the production is much slicker, more powerful, and is driven home immediately on the Mercyful Fate-meets-Helmet opening track “Belle de L’Ombre/Walk On”. However, the focus on the rest of this album is less on metal and more on the very-much-in-vogue American alternative rock, as songs like “Unsaid, Undone” and “No Love” take on a blatant Dinosaur Jr. quality, with the emphasis put on Markus’s slick guitar solos and laid-back, J. Mascis-like singing style. Meanwhile, “Welcome Back” and “This Sorry Confession” continue the same Fugazi/early Hüsker Dü obsession the trio showed on their first album, and hints of Sonic Youth’s dissonant experimentation start to creep into tracks like “One Dark Love Poem” and “I’m a Whale”. The most striking shift in style occurs on the great song “The Incredible Change of Our Alien”, which became a minor hit for the band. It opens with ominous, insistent acoustic guitar strumming, some dark, repeated bass notes, and an oddly incongruous banjo plunking away (presaging the similar use of banjo on the Neon Golden album nearly a decade later). The song then erupts in waves of distorted guitars, as Acher chants the surreal verses, repeating each verse twice before moving on to the next, the effect becoming almost mantralike, his chanting voice sounding like a male version of Eastern European chanteuse Nico: “He tried to be like us / He tried to kill all our friends / We locked him...
CD $12.00
09/16/2014
“Shrink, though, is the album that has The Notwist fully realizing their potential for the very first time. Now officially a quartet (the two Achers, Micha and Markus; the two Martins, Gretchmann and Messerschmid), the band proceeds to blend such disparate sounds as laptop cuts and bleeps, jazz, and traditional pop song structures in a way that becomes thrilling at times. Radiohead might have received the vast majority of acclaim for their similarly-styled 2000 album Kid A, but The Notwist beat them to it a couple years earlier. “ - Popmatters
CD $12.00
09/16/2014