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9.0
62931
9.0 |
musicOMH
The Notwist is an apt example of a band that is making good music for no other reason than because making music is what they love to do, which Close To The Glass demonstrates in spades
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8.5
62869
8.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
A record bookended with perfectly executed experiments, so gentle on the ears. Beautiful and perfect, they make the whole record seem round, and right
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8.3
62978
8.3 |
A.V. Club
The band remains a vital example of how music can be simultaneously tangible and abstract, personable and distant, without losing a thing in translation
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8.0
62996
8.0 |
All Music
The way they join the organic and the electronic, the cerebral and the emotional on Close to the Glass makes it the most thoroughly rewarding and enjoyable album of the Notwist's career to date
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8.0
62952
8.0 |
NME
The perfect blend of electronic trickery and broken hearts. Print edition only
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8.0
62956
8.0 |
Uncut
It's sensitively poised and technically perfect. Print edition only
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8.0
62958
8.0 |
Q
Overlooked Teutonic indie rockers keep the motorik running. Print edition only
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8.0
62864
8.0 |
The Skinny
The production that steals the show: the back five tracks, particularly the sublime instrumental Lineri, are a wonderful reminder that despite their frequent and long hiatuses, nobody makes music quite like the Notwist
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8.0
62868
8.0 |
The List
The Notwist aren't even leftfield; when everyone's out striving on the pitch, they're tucked away in the bleachers, busy having too much fun experimenting to care
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8.0
63550
8.0 |
Clash
Trickier, more elusive and distant, but it also repays close attention. Print edition only
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7.2
63035
7.2 |
Paste Magazine
There’s something bold and unusual about The Notwist releasing this sort of grab bag as its big Sub Pop debut
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7.0
62984
7.0 |
Spin
Close to the Glass still stacks up the chemistry experiments: blipping, blooping, swirling, squeaking, scritching, glitching, twinkling, fading into gauze
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7.0
62870
7.0 |
The Music
This is definitely a late-night-alone album
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7.0
62867
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Close to the Glass isn't quite the luxurious auditory and emotional jacuzzi the Notwist's albums have been in the past. It's more a wading pool made of obligation and diffidence
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7.0
63066
7.0 |
Under The Radar
Close to the Glass is a forum in which ramshackle indie-pop, acoustic balladry, and expansive electronic sonic explorations happily coexist, and it's all the better for it
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7.0
64030
7.0 |
Loud And Quiet
The results are wonderfully disorientating
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6.4
63060
6.4 |
Pitchfork
Their razor-sharp sense of direction feels strangely blunted
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6.0
63027
6.0 |
PopMatters
Some of the ambient noodling from Sturm has carried over in befuddling ways, making Close to the Glass album with a few bright points overwhelmed by a lack of cohesion
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6.0
62865
6.0 |
DIY
Each and every track has its own identity that perfectly mixes the familiar with the unfamiliar, which is simply a continuation of what The Notwist have always been best at
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6.0
62962
6.0 |
Mojo
This is music of craft and accomplishment. Print edition only
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6.0
63838
6.0 |
The Irish Times
Band and album are at their best when the tracks are clear-headed and focused, as on the serrated Kong or the introspective Casino
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5.8
63454
5.8 |
Consequence Of Sound
They blend together into a hodgepodge of skittering electronic beats and occasional vocal lines. This gap makes the album pleasant, but ultimately unremarkable
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5.8
62866
5.8 |
Pretty Much Amazing
The good outweighs the bad here, make no mistake. But unlike the best of the Notwist’s output, Close to the Glass isn’t emotionally nourishing, primarily because there’s no real sense that anything is at stake
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