Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

I had originally planned to write a review of a Finnish album, Melkein vieraissa, as my first entry for the blog, but as a long-time fan of Nine Inch Nails, I thought this was a fitting place to start. (Hopefully I will get the other one written soon, though...)

Anyone who has not been living in a musical vacuum will have heard that on May 5, a scant two months after the surprise release of Ghosts I-IV, Nine Inch Nails have published yet another stealth album, this time as a completely free digital release (with the promise of a normal physical CD release available sometime in July) with multiple high quality audio formats available for download.

Stylistically, The Slip (or halo 27, for those who are keeping track) primarily fits somewhere between With Teeth and Year Zero, ranging from noisy electronic industrial anthems with frenetic beats through a delicate ballad into intricate ambient instrumentals. However, I find it feels overall more introspective and perhaps subtler than either of the aforementioned albums in spite of some serious aggression at the start, probably in part because the play order puts the faster, noisier songs early in the track list. The tempo slows in the middle and then more significantly in the second half of the album, and this slower pace in the latter half, especially "Corona Radiata" and "The Four Of Us Are Dying", seems to determine the general tone of the album for me.

Musically, the contrast between the distortion and melody, between the noisy, energetic industrial songs and the multi-layered instrumental soundscapes works very well for me, and the album has gotten better the more I have listened to it. While "Head Down" and "The Four Of Us Are Dying" were instantly addictive for me, the slow, organic build-up in the haunting "Corona Radiata" seemed out of place at first, yet the deliberate pacing and layering of the tones and the sometimes bizarre distorted samples intrigued me and drew me in. The vocals mesh well with the music, as do the lyrics, which deal with common themes for NIN such as isolation and disaffection, with a bit of social criticism thrown in. I also like the individual graphics for each track, quite stylish and eye-catching.

As I mentioned earlier, this album is something of a blend of the styles of With Teeth and Year Zero, leading some people to discount it as a collection of unused B-sides from those two albums. At 10 tracks, with a playtime of just under 44 minutes, the album is a little on the short side, but don't let that, the short lead time or the lack of a price tag fool you -- this is no throwaway. The Slip may not break any new musical ground, but fans of Reznor's recent offerings will not be disappointed, and if you haven't yet invested in Nine Inch Nails' recent albums, this is a good introduction. But honestly, anyone interested enough even to read this review should go download the album and give it a careful listen or three. It is definitely worth the time.

9/10