The Notwist
With their new album ‘Close To The Glass’ released on Feb 24th by City Slang, The Notwist have shared, accidentally very topical, new video for their ludicrously catchy new single ‘Kong’.
The animated visual, directed by Japanese film-maker Yu Sato and featuring illustrations from Tim Divall, tells the true story of a young boy and his family trapped in their home by a flood, dreaming of being saved by a superhero as the water rose around them. Little did Sato know when making the video, quite how scarily apt it would be when released – for us in the UK at least!
The band are also preparing to embark upon their first European tour for some time, with a 4-date UK run next month that staring off at Manchester’s Deaf Institue on March 15th.
The Notwist have always been pioneering their own sound, walking a trail of songs across genres toward something definitively new and distinctly them. Yet the German born band are never running ‘from’ their previous creations rather ‘toward’ the next, and in doing so have crafted a series of personal yet impeccable records that warmly thread together the far corners of independent music. Simply speaking, the Notwist make this careful and banging, private yet pop, post-everything music, for the movie going on inside you.
Their latest full length ‘Close To The Glass’ is yet another courageous leap into the sky of songs. It is a catchy and unpredictable marriage of playing your heart out on an instrument and the magnetic pulse of precise programming. While the band always creates music ripe with authenticity and mood, we find them now defining their edges with no shortage of bravery or beat. As romantic as it is robotic, ‘Close To The Glass’ is a bottomless collage; part pop song, part science, part band, part storytelling and all Notwist. The sturdy glue between the layers of ‘Close To The Glass’ is their newfound synergy as a band, no longer co-writing parts, Markus Micha and Martin have finally found their human form and in some ways, at last, have ‘become’ The Notwist. Along side Max and Andi, they write, re-write, and record songs as one, tapping into the energy they possess on stage, and naturally arriving at the band all their exploratory recorded music had cut out for them.
The Notwist UK Live Dates:
Mar. 15 – Manchester, UK – The Deaf Institute
Mar. 16 – Glasgow, UK – Mono
Mar. 17 – Bristol, UK – The Fleece
Mar. 18 – London, UK – Village Underground
