‘The Devil, You + Me’
by The Notwist,
Domino Records

Can it really by six years since The Notwist’s breakout album, “Neon Golden,” came out? What have I been doing with my life? Originally released by German label City Slang, then reissued by Domino Records shortly thereafter, “Neon Golden” was an album so obviously good upon first listen that it quickly turned the group, known previously for wildly changing styles, into standard bearers for its adopted pop-electronica sound. Influenced by similar artists on the Berlin-based Morr Music label, and boosted by the programming work of band member Martin Gretschmann, a.k.a. Console, The Notwist became hugely popular even though, to this day, no one, not even the band themselves, knows how to pronounce their name.

So now we have “The Devil, You + Me,” the band’s long-awaited follow-up that is every bit as good. There is a Bowie-esque space fixation on this new record (“Where in this World,” “Gloomy Planets,” “Gravity,” “On Planet Off”), but musically it is in the same territory as “Neon Golden,” relying on classic indie-rock guitars and subtle electronics, which are programmed beautifully and mixed in at all the right moments. On “Boneless,” about as good a song as one can imagine, the key is restraint, as Console adds quiet bell sounds to Markus Acher’s vocals before a full orchestra appears for the track’s end. Even then, The Notwist, like the best of New Order, sounds big but never overwhelms.

Visit www.notwist.com.

‘Time of Hayfield’
by Andrew Chalk,
Faraway Press

“Time of Hayfield” is the latest from Englishman Andrew Chalk, whose name alone has come to remind me of rolling English hills and/or being asleep on the floor. As half of Mirror, a visionary experimental group that counted Jim O’Rourke as an occasional member, Chalk anchored the group’s sound in something totally pastoral that has really come alive in his solo recordings. Released on his own label and, as always, packaged in handmade cardboard painted by the artist himself, “Time of Hayfield” is classic Chalk—elegant, spacious and capable of slowing the heart to a crawl.

Like some of his recent work, the tracks on “Hayfield” are shorter pieces, moving along like actual songs instead of expansive soundscapes that simply fade away whenever the vinyl runs out. It’s as if Chalk is trying to limit himself to a smaller canvas, to tie his ideas together in a finite space and come up with a new way to experience “songs.” Using a number of instruments, Chalk stretches out his sounds into blissful drones that come together like an orchestra on opium. Much of experimental music could be described as otherworldly, but not Chalk’s. His work is completely of the Earth.

Visit www.farawaypress.net.

‘S/T’
by Cheap Time,
In the Red Records

Finally, an album that’s perfect for cruising around in the summertime, windows down, giving everyone the middle finger.
Snotty is a word that is used too often to describe punk music with attitude, but attitude is exactly what Cheap Time’s debut oozes from its oily skin. Garage rock with a power-pop/glam fixation, this album is pure, triumphant trash. Bandleader Jeffrey Novak, who flaunts an Iggy Pop pounce and a Darby Crash of The Germs squeal, knows his influences and has no qualms with emulating them. From the faded photograph on the album cover to the reverb-loving vintage sound of the recording, there’s no doubt that Nashville’s Cheap Time is unapologetically derivative.

Yet there are moments of originality on a number of these tracks—not just in the synthesizer flourishes that appear from out of nowhere, but also in Novak’s ability to blend a number of styles into one punk rock song while still sounding like a bratty teenager who’s too cool to try hard. The last song “Trip to the Zoo,” one of the strongest on the record, begins with 90 seconds of a single distorted bass note and the sounds of junk breaking before Novak starts singing about going to the zoo because he’s bored. It’s a perfect example of why sometimes it’s great to be mindless.

Visit www.myspace.com/cheaptime.

‘Solar Bridge’
by Emeralds,
Hanson Records

Here’s another one to slow the blood pressure. After a massive amount of limited edition releases and LPs over the past two years, this feels like the band’s first official release, coming by way of Aaron Dilloway’s (Ex-Wolf Eyes) Hanson imprint. There’s not a moment on this album (although it is brief) that is not engaging, emotional, mind-altering. Split between two tracks—“Magic” and “The Quaking Mess”—“Solar Bridge” reminds me of the Brian Eno and Cluster collaborations. It floats like ambience, but unlike Eno, Emeralds, a three-piece from Cleveland, demands the listener’s attention. Analog synthesizers buzz and bubble, an electric guitar collapses into itself, and all of it clings together as one unpredictable wave of sound, droning, moving slowly and then falling apart.

It’s great that Emeralds is, in fact, a band. As fans of ambient music may know, the model for the genre is commonly the lone artist composing meticulously in a way that is almost impossible to replicate live. But Emeralds is the opposite. The three members are at once improvisational and yet clearly in control, commanding both in a live setting and on a recording. Don’t mess with them.

Visit www.emeraldsohio.com