City Slang/Domino

Over two decades, the Notwist have dabbled in both the chugging riffs of indie rock and the synth-glitches of electropop. But six years after the landmark Neon Golden — a gorgeous and infectious album that presaged the appeal of Postal Service — the German quartet has returned with a more melancholic affair. Somber acoustics and wistful vocals suffuse songs like “Gone Gone Gone” and the title track in starkness. “Good Lies” and “Gloomy Planets” both open with gentle strums but soon ignite into an epic swirl of binary blips and whirring synths. It all makes for another superb sonic odyssey.