Disclaimer: I've been a NIN fan since I was 18 years old and heard Head Like a Hole. For years I thought they could do no wrong.
Whew, okay, that's outta the way. I'm still a big fan, but a half dozen albums and 20 years later, both Trent and I are both a little softer around the edges. Sonically, NIN runs the gamut of moods and themes, even within a single album. He screams, croons, broods and dances all within an hour, and his new album, The Slip, is no exception.
But when I first heard their single, "Discipline", I stopped dead in my tracks. Whoa. Was this a Nine Inch Nails reborn? Was it a band that had taken notes from tour mates like Ladytron and TV on the Radio and reinvented itself as some kind of indie-rock/industrial hybrid? The steady thumping bass was right out of Radio 4 and the whole thing felt like some sort of angry Rapture song.
Alas, the single does not represent the album. The album quickly deviates into noisier, grindier pieces, that while intelligently created, often leave me cold. Don't get me wrong, Reznors less dancy pieces can be powerful works. But it's not his relationship to the dancefloor that defines his work. It's his relationship to silence. Look back at all of the really memorable tracks from this band and you will see an intimate connection between sound and silence. "Closer", "Hurt", "Sin", "March of the Pigs", "The Day the World Went Away", "Only" - all of these songs are as much defined by the sounds they don't make as by the ones they do.
There are some interesting pieces on this album and I still think Trent Reznor is one of the true auteur's of our generation. This album doesn't mark a new direction or a high water mark for Nine Inch Nails, but it does continue down a thoughtful, well-produced, relevant trail that began two decades ago.
You can download the entire album, The Slip, at http://www.nin.com/ for free. Entirely free. In almost any format. Cheers, TR.
Whew, okay, that's outta the way. I'm still a big fan, but a half dozen albums and 20 years later, both Trent and I are both a little softer around the edges. Sonically, NIN runs the gamut of moods and themes, even within a single album. He screams, croons, broods and dances all within an hour, and his new album, The Slip, is no exception.
But when I first heard their single, "Discipline", I stopped dead in my tracks. Whoa. Was this a Nine Inch Nails reborn? Was it a band that had taken notes from tour mates like Ladytron and TV on the Radio and reinvented itself as some kind of indie-rock/industrial hybrid? The steady thumping bass was right out of Radio 4 and the whole thing felt like some sort of angry Rapture song.
Alas, the single does not represent the album. The album quickly deviates into noisier, grindier pieces, that while intelligently created, often leave me cold. Don't get me wrong, Reznors less dancy pieces can be powerful works. But it's not his relationship to the dancefloor that defines his work. It's his relationship to silence. Look back at all of the really memorable tracks from this band and you will see an intimate connection between sound and silence. "Closer", "Hurt", "Sin", "March of the Pigs", "The Day the World Went Away", "Only" - all of these songs are as much defined by the sounds they don't make as by the ones they do.
There are some interesting pieces on this album and I still think Trent Reznor is one of the true auteur's of our generation. This album doesn't mark a new direction or a high water mark for Nine Inch Nails, but it does continue down a thoughtful, well-produced, relevant trail that began two decades ago.
You can download the entire album, The Slip, at http://www.nin.com/ for free. Entirely free. In almost any format. Cheers, TR.
3 comments:
"This album doesn't mark a new direction or a high water mark for Nine Inch Nails"
That might be true about the music BUT it's the way he's doing business that does. Cheers to TR indeed.
btw....Head Down is the best song! :P I think I like Echoplex more than Discipline but those are my top 3.
If you haven't seen this, it's freakin hilarious! (When TR posted Discipline on his site he said "take your shirts off and dance!")
That video is hilarious - although, sadly, I'm no surprised that some people thought it was the official video.
And yes, Mr. Reznor (along with Radiohead) are indeed leading the way for the future of music distribution.
I agree that one of the things I've always loved about Trent's music is the depth of texture and sound - including the use of silence.
That said - given that last release from NIN was very atmospheric and moody, and that I do know what TR is capable of (musical genius!), I'm enjoying the return to danciness as well as the harsher, hard rocking stuff on The Slip.
Connor, you heard me say it before I read this blog: Head Down is my favorite, it floored me! Nadine and I always had the same taste in music. ; ) I agree with her top three assessment!
And yes, kudos to TR for executing his new music business model.
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