Pitchfork

Before there was Turn on the Bright Lights or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (well, at least officially), there was Neon Golden. And now, almost nine months after the album got props as one of our favorite albums of the first quarter of 2002, The Notwist's stunning glitch-pop masterpiece is finally slated for a U.S. release on February 23rd through the Domino USA label. Which is good news if you're one of the many who've been waiting to snap up a copy at, shall we say, reasonable domestic prices. You may now strut down to your local (independent) record shop, slap down a twenty for this glorious opus from these zany-haired Germans, and still have enough change left to buy a couple of crullers.

n There's presently no word on whether the U.S. version will be packaged with bonus tracks, though god knows there would be plenty of options. The band has released two singles in their native Germany: "Pick Up the Phone" featured a non-album track titled "Red Room", along with a remix of "This Room" by IDM favorites Four Tet and Manitoba and the "Pick Up the Phone" video; and "Pilot", which included remixes by electro-pop freak Console (who also remixed the title track for the "Trashing Days" twelve-inch), and Andreas Gerth of Tied and Tickled Trio under his Loopspool guise. One version of the Neon Golden import even came with a bonus DVD sampler with videos by The Notwist, Röyksopp and BMRC! So they've got no excuse to give us the album as-is, really. C'mon, guys, don't make us wait for the inevitable "[+1 Bonus Track] [Japanese]" version on Amazon.

n The official Notwist website (which, be warned, is more deliberately obfuscating than a bad postmodernist) is announcing that the band is planning a North American tour to kick off in April 2003, but dates have not been made available yet. We'll let you know, of course, when they have.

n Addendum: Official word is that the US pressing of Neon Golden will indeed include three bonus tracks, though there is no word on exactly which tracks those will be.

n .: The Notwist: http://www.notwist.com
"