Neon Golden

Neon Golden is the Notwist's sixth full-length album and light years ahead of their post-punk, self-titled debut from 1990. Fifteen months in the making, Neon Golden is a prime example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. A myriad of offsetting influences and styles that, on paper, shouldn't add up to the masterpiece that it is, Neon Golden seamlessly blends Markus Acher's subtle guitar and plaintive, detached vocals with modern day electronica (courtesy of squiggle-rock maestro Martin Gretschmann, aka Console), and ultra-fat dub passages and lush string and horn arrangements by classically trained trumpeter and bassist Micha Acher. The whole stew is anchored by Mecki Messerschmid's tasteful and colorful drum work, both on the skins as well as the pads. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the record is the band's attention to tiny details and the way they mix the organic and electronic with extraordinary ease.