Knob-twiddling German indie rockers The Notwist have come a long way since their eponymous punk-rock-metalhead debut. A looooong way. Unless you have a copy of their first LP, it's hard to imagine singer/guitarist Markus Acher's gentle vocals and plaintive lyrics - almost naive in their simple English - being hassled by shred. It's difficult to mentally excise their newfound knack for assembling dioramas of pure sound and gleeful, understated use of timbre and picture them presiding over a mosh pit, reeking of sauerkraut, but it happened. Six albums and almost two (!) decades later, we've received The Devil, You + Me, a gorgeous companion piece to 2002's revelatory Neon Golden.

Like their last album, The Devil... is a many-flavored feast for your ear drums. A bento box where every sound item is meticulously placed, fashioned for optimum effect. The quivering strings that introduce "Where In This World" feel right at home next to the deep, glitchy beats that spur the song forward. The driving, Neu-inspired grooves that underpin "Gloomy Planets", bear intricately carved flourishes, sonic truffles that lead you on, munching happily to the next song. Their fascination with the possibilities of combination and aptitude for arrangement is nothing less than flabbergasting. Until the last, gratifying strum of the "Gone Gone Gone" you are bound to be captivated by this album. On the charming opening track, "Good Lies," Acher entreats: "let's just imitate the real until we find a better one". Fine with us, as long as these guys are in charge of constructing the replica.

Notwist [Official] [MySpace]