#vertigo days

[stevenvenn]

The Notwist - Exit Strategy to Myself (from Vertigo Days) As I missed a post yesterday, I’m doubling up today! The Notwist are back with a new one Vertigo Days! This track starts out very Krautrocky and gets more interesting as it goes along.

[thefeedbacker]

Now that you know how much it hurts

Won't save you from falling into love again

[thebolg]

Vertigo Days by The Notwist

7.6 - Catching mist from a neighbor's sprinkler on a hot summer walk yields a measured but potent amount of joy then moments later you're dry and I can listen to this whole album while each time it feels like it took no time at all, was beautiful, and is somewhat nondescript in my memory. - ty

7.7 - I was seeking an album that felt whole and new but familiar and Vertigo Days perfectly satisfied my need with an alt indie groove that was weird enough for a fulfilling tiptoe out of my comfort zone. -Jt

4 - Meh... held my attention for a bit but overall forgettable. - Lola

[superstarfighter]

[kirkdoespitchfork]

The Notwist - Vertigo Days

Pitchfork: 7.0

Me: Over (Best New Music) 

The Notwist's records are in a spiritual category with The Avalanches. They combine indie rock and electro sensibilities with an undercurrent of nostalgia and psychedelia. Perhaps because they're more accessible, NT gets less credit, but this record is fantastic and worth many listens.

[polaroidblog]

Now that you know how much it hurts

Nei giorni in cui ascolto il nuovo disco dei Notwist il governo italiano sta cadendo, la distribuzione dei vaccini contro il Covid-19 è diventata all’improvviso incerta, e tutti quelli che conosco si sono messi a parlare senza sosta dentro un nuovo social chiamato Clubhouse. Io lavoro da casa, dalla scrivania vedo il cielo sopra Bologna, quasi sempre senza colore. Nei giorni in cui ascolto il nuovo disco dei Notwist sto cercando di non bere caffè e di non cedere al disordine, e la vertigine ha la forma, in apparenza tranquilla, di un pomeriggio d’inverno, mentre è quasi un anno che siamo chiusi qui dentro. Vertigo Days è un titolo bellissimo, soprattutto se lo penso nella voce di Marcus Acher, così distante eppure così scrupolosa nel suo aggirarsi attorno alle melodie...

[mxdwn]

Album Review: The Notwist – Vertigo Days

https://music.mxdwn.com/2021/02/04/reviews/album-review-the-notwist-vertigo-days/

[dustedmagazine]

The Notwist — Vertigo Days (Morr Music)

Photograph by Johannes Maria Haslinger

Vertigo Days by The Notwist

Anyone who has tuned into The Notwist’s previous records — such as 1998’s fantastic Shrink or 2002’s breakout Neon Golden — will find plenty to appreciate on their latest album, Vertigo Days. The key differences here are guest vocal appearances from Saya (of Tenniscoats), Ben LaMar Gay and Juana Molina, and instrumental contributions from Angel Bat Dawid and Zayaendo. Though there’s plenty of variety between tracks, the album is held together by robust Krautrock rhythms and prominent melodic bass, plus multiple layers of drifting, shifting instrumentation (guitars, organs, horns) that thread these songs into a meaningful whole. As ever, Markus Acher’s deadpan vocal sounds like he’s just clambered out of bed with a fuzzy head, daydreaming through the music’s elaborate weave.

The Notwist really know how to structure a front-to-back listening experience, and this is emphatically a work of art best appreciated as a whole. As tends to happen with albums such as this, strip-mining Vertigo Days for pre-release “singles” has not served it well. By the album’s release date, six of the 14 tracks will have been made available on streaming services. Dip in at your peril before you pass judgment, however, because this is a record that deserves an uninterrupted listen. Yes, there are fantastic standalone songs here (“Loose Ends” is killer), but the focus is on the flow: masterful sequencing and segues carry Vertigo Days from one lovingly crafted musical passage to another, especially during the album’s opening third. For example, while early single “Where You Find Me” doesn’t make much of an impact as a standalone song, within the context of the album it proves a much-needed balm following the clanging guitars and deafening Farfisa organ of “Exit Strategy to Myself.” 

After the brief introductory instrumental, “Al Norte” (“To the North”), “Into Love / Stars” transitions from pensive piano into sparkling spirals of glassy synth, evoking the giddy rush of new love, before shifting into an anxious second half propelled by drum machine and driving bass. The down-and-out vibe of “Loose Ends,” which brings to mind Machine Translations slow-motion jamming in a shady bar, is bookended by the loping Can-style grooves of “Ship” and “Into the Ice Age.” At the album’s heart lies the deeply affecting “Oh Sweet Fire,” on which Markus Acher trades verses with Ben LaMar Gay to create a bizarre, warbling amalgam of bummed-out trip-hop and street-corner beat poetry. “Night’s Too Dark” proves to be the second half’s twin of “Loose Ends,” mustering the momentum to break out of its intoxicated melancholy thanks to some glowing vibraphone during the song’s instrumental middle section. Juana Molina adds sing-song vocal pep to the hurtling “Al Sur” (“To the South”) before “Into Love Again” revisits the theme of “Into Love / Stars” at the album’s close. 

As the music comes full circle, Vertigo Days forms a satisfying whole. On subsequent spins, more and more subtle threads and parallels become apparent, highlighting the craftsmanship The Notwist have invested in what may prove to be their finest album to date. 

Tim Clarke