As promised, Sub Pop revealed its mystery signing today and it’s German group the Notwist. The Notwist, which are perhaps best known for their 2002 album “Neon Golden,” isn’t as exciting a name as the Flaming Lips, Beck, Radiohead and others that were guessed by readers of the label’s mysterious and playful blog post about the signing, but they do fit right in on Sub Pop’s roster. Whether or not they bring the large fanbase with them that Sub Pop promoted in their tease and are a band any label would love to sign as also mentioned in the blog post … well, that’s debatable.
The band’s first Sub Pop release, “Close to the Glass” will be released Feb. 25. Take a listen to the record’s title track, which does sound a bit Radiohead-y with all of it’s bleeps and bloops, above. Full press release from Sub Pop announcing the signing and details of the album below:
Sub Pop is thrilled to share the news that German band The Notwist will release Close to The Glass, their label debut, on CD/2xLP/DL in North America on February 25th. The album will also be available in the following territories: in Japan from Afterhours on February 12th; in Australia via Spunk on February 21st; and in Europe via City Slang on February 24th. Close To The Glass features the title track, as well as singles “Run Run Run,” “Kong,” and “Casino” (see Pitchfork News Story November 19th). Please find a full tracklisting below.
Fans who pre-order Close To The Glass via iTunes beginning Tuesday, November 19th will receive the album’s title track immediately. The album will also be available for pre-order at Sub Pop’s Notwist page. People who pre-order Close To The Glass on LP at subpop.com will receive the limited “Loser Edition” of the album on colored vinyl. There’s also two brand new The Notwist t-shirts that will be available as a premium bundle with CD or LP purchases.
The Notwist have scheduled a series of European tour dates to support Close To The Glass, which begin January 24th in Innsbruck, AT at the Weekender Club and currently ends May 28th in Amsterdam, NL at Melkweg. Please find a full list of tour dates below.
More about The Notwist:
The Notwist’s 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 story telling 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, brothers Markus and Micha Archer alongside Martin Gretchmann have finally found their human form and in some ways, at last, have ‘become’ The Notwist. With support from Max Punktezahl and Andi Haberl, 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 (read more at Sub Pop).
Close To The Glass
Tracklisting
1. Signals
2. Close To The Glass
3. Kong
4. Into Another Tune
5. Casino
6. From One Wrong Place To The Next
7. 7-Hour-Drive
8. The Fifth Quarter Of The Globe
9. Run Run Run
10. Steppin’ In
11. Lineri
12. They Follow Me
Tour Dates
Jan. 24 – Innsbruck, AT – Weekender Club
Jan. 25 – Vienna, AT – FM4 Geburtstagsfest
Feb. 24 – Wiesbaden, DE – Schlachthof
Feb. 25 – Bielefeld, DE – Forum
Feb. 26 – Berlin, DE – Heimathafen
Mar. 10 – Stuttgart, DE – Wagenhallen
Mar. 11 – Lyon, FR – Epicerie Moderne
Mar. 12 – Nantes, FR – Stereolux
Mar. 13 – Paris, FR – La Maroquinerie
Mar. 14 – Lille, FR – Le Grand Mix
Mar. 15 – Manchester, UK – The Deaf Institute
Mar. 16 – Glasgow, UK – Mono
Mar. 17 – Bristol, UK – The Fleece
Mar. 18 – London, UK – Village Underground
Mar. 19 – Brussels, BE – Botanique
Mar. 20 – Cologne, DE – E-Werk
Apr. 10 – Ljubijana, SK – TBA
Apr. 11 – Zagreb, HR – Mochvara
Apr. 12 – Linz, AT – Posthof
Apr. 13 – Munich, DE – Circus Krone
May 27 – Hamburg, DE – Laeiszhalle
May 28 – Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg
