News from Planet Zombie

Released on March 13, 2026 via Morr Music, News from Planet Zombie is The Notwist's eighth studio album and their most fully collaborative record in decades. The core trio of Markus Acher, Micha Acher, and Cico Beck recorded it in a single week at Import Export, a non-profit arts space in Munich, playing together as a live unit for the first time since their 1995 album 12. The expanded live band included Theresa Loibl, Max Punktezahl, Karl Ivar Refseth, and Andi Haberl, with guest appearances from vocalists and string and wind players.

The title draws on B-movie and zombie horror imagery as a metaphor for contemporary global anxiety. Markus Acher described the framing directly: the world at this moment resembles "a really bad and unrealistic B-movie." Yet the album does not dwell in despair. It responds to chaos with warmth, collective energy, and cautious optimism. The zombie conceit also evokes dormant values being resurrected: collaboration, togetherness, and communal presence.

A recurring image in Acher's reflections on the album is the Isar river in Munich, which he described as "always the same but always changing," a reminder that time moves in only one direction and each moment is precious. This tension between continuity and irreversible change runs through the record's quieter songs, particularly the contemplative "Who We Used to Be" and the closing instrumental meditation "Like This River."

The album includes covers of Neil Young's "Red Sun" (developed for a theatre production) and Lovers' "How the Story Ends." Critical reception was exceptionally strong. Bandcamp Daily called it "their most mature album to date." Multiple reviewers placed it among the band's best work, praising its blend of in-your-face energy and contemplative depth.