Minimum Tempo

Maybe Trent Reznor serves as an example of what a “free artist” can truly do. His major earlier works (Pretty Hate Machine in 1989, Broken (EP) in 1992, The Downward Spiral in 1994, The Fragile in 1999, With Teeth in 2005) took at least three years before release, the most notable gap being With Teeth, which came five and a half years after The Fragile. Since April 2007, Nine Inch Nails has released three full length albums: Year Zero, Ghosts I-IV, and The Slip. Not only is he producing a great amount of material since he broke away from Interscope Records, Reznor is also utilizing the Internet to his advantage. Year Zero, while although released by Interscope Records, had an alternate reality game used to both market the album and flesh out the dystopian world and future described in its songs. Ghosts I-IV was Reznor’s second foray in digital downloads, but he succeeded by rolling in over one and a half million dollars in the first week. A little over two months after Ghosts I-IV, and Reznor’s back for more with The Slip. As a thank you to his fans, it’s completely free.

The album begins with “999,999,” an ambient instrumental track that gradually fades into the next track, appropriately titled “1,000,000.” This is a return to vocals; blaring drums and powerful guitar riffs dominate this loud song, its industrial effects even louder. It’s not classic Nine Inch Nails, but it gives off the With Teeth vibe. The song unfortunately is tiring after a few listens. The electric and the distorted effects don’t cut it here. Following these two tracks is “Letting You,” a song slightly reminiscent of The Downward Spiral. It’s intense, feverish, and aggressive. The industrial sounds somewhat mesh with the rest of the track, but both this song and “1,000,000″ sound like a crude mix of noise and vocals.

The two most radio-friendly songs, “Discipline” and “Echoplex,” do not seem like they belong in The Slip. Both tracks were released digitally before the album’s release, but they do not evoke the feelings and atmosphere of the other songs. Nevertheless, “Discipline” is pleasing and perfect for dancing but “Echoplex” is too simple and plain. The latter song suffers from

Forget all that, I’m not wasting any more time describing each individual song. The Slip isn’t that great, and I definitely hoped for more. But hey, it’s free.

In some ways, the ability to experiment without record label pressure or demands is liberating and productive; Reznor can attempt new things to present better music to his fans. On the other hand, the absence of a record label that assists in the album’s creation can hurt the overall quality of the end product. It may not seem like it, but record labels can still help an album despite the artist’s wishes.

The Slip hardly feels like a good record, and its flaws lie within the album’s lack of firm direction. Reznor, along with producers Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, needs to rethink his approach to his material because this isn’t why NIN fans like NIN. More so than past albums, The Slip feels like noise and vocals mixed together without a goal or a sense of vision. While The Fragile is one of the most complex and deep albums I ever had the pleasure of hearing, Reznor’s latest significantly falls short. It’s nice that there are soft tracks like “Lights in the Sky,”  but the instrumental “Corona Radiata” need not be over seven minutes long, especially after releasing Ghosts I-IV. Come on Trent, you can do better than that.

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Verdict: C+

The Slip is a sign that although artists being free to produce and release whatever content they would like, one reason for the lack of multiple artist releases in a single year is that good content takes time. It is not worth listening to these frequent releases if fans can receive an incredible masterpiece after a full year of work and polish. Good thing Trent’s going on tour, because he needs to get his mind off music creation (at least partially) until his creative juices are flowing again. The Slip could have been so much more, but instead Trent gives an average album to his fans.

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Side notes: But hey, it’s free, so go download it at nin.com. Available in FLAC, 320kbps MP3, M4A lossless, and 24/96 WAVE, and all versions include a PDF file with artwork and credits.

But this free content stuff isn’t so bad, you know? Trent is offering this in lossless formats and licensing it with Creative Commons. This is an example other artists need to follow.

This post is tagged Ghosts I-IV, Industrial rock, Music, Music Reviews, Nine Inch Nails, Reviews, The Fragile, The Slip

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