Click HERE to get the new full-length nine inch nails record: the slipHoly shit, first $5 US for the awesome instrumental quadruple EP Ghosts I-IV, now this? I've got to admire the worth ethic of Mr. Reznor, I was at the concerts last year where he told the crowd to steal because the record companies were being greedy. Since then he's seen out his contract and made Radiohead's album give-away look like the gimmick it was. Trent has given us choice in format and he hasn't compromised on quality to do so. But above anything else Trent has shown there is a market for online downloads. The numbers may have been disappointing for Niggy Tardust, but it was the first step in a long line of refining a successful Internet business model. The new album give-away is just going to do even more to increase his status as the leader of the MP3 revolution.
(thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years - this one's on me)
The Music
- Ghosts I-IV - Somehow in the week this was released, I amassed over 400 listens to Nine Inch Nails that week on last.fm. It's instantly recognisable as a NIN release, just very stripped back. At 1h50m, I could see it pushing the reflex action of a portion of the fanbase, the ones who want have Starfuckers Inc. or Closer as their favourite track. But for those who don't mind a bit of NIN's instrumental work and ambient music, it really is worth a listen. It works so well to as background music, being the ultimate generic fanboy I even put it on while sipping wine and reading Chuck Palahniuk's "Guts". As I've had a multitude of concerts and new releases in recent times, it's faded from my playlist, but I can see myself coming back to it time and time again when I wish to construct a dark serenity in my mind.
- The Slip - I'm on my 5th listen in the few short hours since I was able to get the album down, and I'm loving it. The leading single Discipline is much like Only on With Teeth; it's not completely indicative of the sound of the rest of the record. Tracks like 1,000,000, Letting You and Head Down will not feel out of place alongside the classic tracks off Broken / TDS era in the live set. Still the melodic sensibilities of Trent shine through, resulting in yet another album so brutal and fragile at the same time. The man knows how to pace an album. The disillusion and despair of Lights In The Sky and Corona Radiata sits so perfectly in the soundscape. It's never a collection of songs thrown together with NIN, it's always a musical and emotive journey. Each track has it's own position and much like a movie, without proper pacing having great scenes is worthless if you can't make them flow seamlessly. It's a great album, worth triple the price I paid easily.
All I have to do is wait patiently for another Nine Inch Nails tour to come along to Australia. It'll be sad to see them without Aaron North in the line-up, but Robin Finck isn't by any means a downgrade. I'm very jealous of the US dates that have either Deerhunter or Crystal Castles opening, those are shaping up to be fantastic shows. I hope the NIN crowd gives them a chance, both have put out fantastic albums in recent times and are definitely worth a listen. But being stuck down under means I'll have to wait patiently, hoping that Reznor's work ethic continues in this fast release cycle. He's taking music to the fans directly using a medium which he can see the potential of that major record labels have failed to capitalise on. iTunes is a fucking joke, as are the companies pushing DRM on highly compressed WMA or AAC files. When the bottom line is money, it's hard to see how these corporations will ever pull their heads out of their asses and work towards a consumer-based product. Individual artists have realised this and that's why it's so important that NIN stays on this internet pathway. For if they waver at all, it may be the final nail in the proverbial coffin the record companies are looking to do with online material. Well done Trent, another great release!
