User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 73 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 73
  2. Negative: 5 out of 73

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  1. JeremyG
    Jan 4, 2004
    9
    Elegant vocals with complimentary backing arrangements. Lovely.
  2. P.H.
    Jan 6, 2005
    9
    Neon Golden is an awesome album. I found this band this year (2004)... in case you like bands like Death Cab for Cutie, DNTEL, Kings of Convenience or the Postal Service you will probably love this album. My favorite songs are: Consequence, This Room, Trashing Days, Pick Up the Phone... Pilot... hmm... It's great all the way through.
  3. RicheP
    Jan 8, 2005
    10
    this is the was music should be heading- because after all, rock is "dead"
  4. bobb
    Dec 3, 2003
    8
    Very good album, not set your house on fire type amazing though.
  5. thesillymofo
    Feb 20, 2003
    10
    this is pure brillance.
  6. LB
    Feb 20, 2003
    10
    This CD has been in my player for one year. I can't stop listening to the achingly beautiful music. Pick Up The Phone and Trashing Days still give me cold chills.
  7. CimN
    Mar 28, 2003
    10
    one of the best albums i have EVER heard. it gets better each time you listen to it!
  8. PatoR
    Apr 11, 2003
    10
    Great, one of the best albums of 2002. Every song is a gem.
  9. AishaK
    Aug 22, 2003
    10
    I can get lost in their words, and I am "hypnotized" by their sound.
  10. DomS.
    Aug 8, 2003
    10
    Despite the fact that I don't officially know how to pronounce their name, this is pop perfection. The lyrics are simple, but ring with layers of wit and experience. The electronic beats seamlessly smooth over the organic brilliance. Subtly devastating.
  11. K.D.
    Feb 22, 2004
    10
    Incredible!
  12. TykeC
    Jun 28, 2005
    8
    nice
  13. matta
    Aug 1, 2005
    10
    One of three truly perfect albums released in 2003 (along with Ed Harcourt-From Every Sphere and Pernice Brothers-Yours, Mine, Ours). Glitchy electronica at it's finest, rivaling even Radiohead's Kid A. Brilliant.
  14. CecilP
    Nov 6, 2003
    9
    My favorite album of 2002, one of the best albums of electronic music I've ever heard. As organic and moving as technology ever got.
  15. MichaelE
    Feb 19, 2003
    9
    Perhaps the best album of the last year, by a bunch of German guys who see fit to expand on the Kid A sound of Radiohead by adding organic instrumentation and real songs that are actually about things. Sort of an outsider's Wish You Were Here to the insider Dark Side of the Moon. But, well, better.
  16. HeidiB
    Mar 23, 2003
    10
    This album is amazing- calming
  17. karlv
    Mar 4, 2003
    10
    give it ten a consider it a classic.
  18. chriss
    Aug 12, 2003
    10
    can listen from song 1 to song 10 without using the ffwd button. rare.
  19. maries
    Apr 20, 2005
    10
    I just discovered this CD this year.....2005.....better late than never.....a psychedelic New Order......brilliant!
  20. DavidM
    Jan 5, 2006
    10
    A self-referencing gem of an album. Space, beauty, timelessness.
  21. MarcusE
    May 30, 2006
    10
    Outstanding. Notwist has produced their finest music. Development from 12, Nook, Shrink to Neon Golden is obvious. This is the one of the all time greatest album. The music are simply elegant and sensational. From track 1 to the last one, you won't skip any lines, it's totally awesome.
  22. EzraM
    Jun 4, 2006
    9
    Just one of those truly excellent pop albums. The only real problem is that they don't have so much to say, directly. They come across to me like those Medieval craftsmen whose message and reward were in the act of creation. Not to sound like a jackass... Generally a less sugary Postal Service without the terrible lyrics.
  23. ErickS
    Jun 29, 2003
    10
    Fans of the genre will find Neon Golden one of the most delightfully brilliant electronic albums of the year. The deliberately pased soothing melodies merged with elegant pop vocals make The Notwist a sure fire critic's favorite and, given enough time, even the most skeptical of listeners will be humming this album in their sleep.
  24. AsiaZ
    Jun 13, 2004
    9
    Wow. This album is not to be missed, especially by those that appreciate good melodies and inventive production. I can't get it out of my cd player, and that's saying a lot.
  25. AndyW
    Nov 15, 2005
    10
    there are no words to describe how good this cd is. i highly recommend this.
  26. SethN
    Nov 22, 2007
    10
    Awesome, cant believe I had to listen through the whole track. Once I heard the first song, it was unfortunate that I was just sitting in my car in the drive way and didn't even want to get out.
  27. Jan 25, 2012
    9
    The Notwist swirl through ambient pastiche with this album and Markus Acher's vocals keep it going with little to no ease. I felt a Kid A vibe throughout the whole album. Each song fits perfectly in this album. A-
Metascore
89

Universal acclaim - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Young people who think Kraftwerk were more important than the Ramones are free to satisfy their craving for the neu with this retreat into simplicity. But even Radiohead and Mouse on Mars contain more chaos.
  2. Planet
    90
    The vocals are really what seem to live with you after one listen, making Neon Golden memorable beyond its audio gimmicks. [#3, p.87]
  3. Uncut
    70
    Neon Golden often comes on like a radical update of New Order's Lowlife period, where mournful guitar songs are integrated into a mesh of clicks, pops, glitches and samples. [Mar 2003, p.96]