I already wrote about “The Devil, You + Me”, the new album of indie electro-rock veterans The Notwist. I was listening to the mp3s for a month and just got the CD. This is one of my favourite albums ever.

But it’s not only that the songs are phantastic, the lyrics leisurely spot-on and the artworks gorgeous. The key is that when you listen closely, you recognize every minute of those two years these guys have been working on the album, composing, hearing, waiting, hearing it again, discarding, recomposing, etc., etc. I do not know of many bands that put so much effort in so little music.

After listening it through several times, one track after the other starts to bloom in a multitude of colors, getting better every time. But as astonishing as the music itself is all the parts that you do NOT hear. All the parts they ditched, and it must have been lots of material. The ideas, bits and pieces must have been enough for three albums. I bet they could have made long and opulent 15-minute tracks, but they decided to do it in 2-5 minute songs, that sound very homogenous and coherent.

The final 11 tracks running 44 minutes are as positively balanced as possible: Full of interesting sounds, melodies, contrasts and lyrics, but not at all overwhelming. Rich in details, but still one approachable flow. Full of daring ideas on every layer, but not “arty”. Complex but easy to grasp. Intense but light-minded. Concentrated without forcing it. Epic but not babbling,

In the end, it’s my personal proof that art (be it music or visual) can be deep, thought-provoking, moving and mysterious, but on the other hand still can be fun, enjoyable and light. There is no need for this uncomfortable “What is this all about?”-feeling that modern art often triggers in the viewer. It is too common in modern art to throw in some odd features, only to raise questions and then leave it entirely to the viewer to interpret and draw their conclusions. Of course it is ok, that every viewer will see art in his/her individual way. But if they feel like they are completely left on their own in figuring out any meaning, then the communciation between the artist and the viewer is severely broken.

Perfect art is easy to grasp as a pop-song but so deep and rich that I will never be able to see it through entirely. Like this album.