CD Review - Nine Inch Nails WITH_TEETH
As I lie here and stare
The fabric starts to tear
It's far beyond repair
and I don't really care
As far as I have gone
I know what side I'm on
Now I'm not so sure
The line begins to blur
The fabric starts to tear
It's far beyond repair
and I don't really care
As far as I have gone
I know what side I'm on
Now I'm not so sure
The line begins to blur
And so here we are, six years after the release of The Fragile, a critical success but a commercial failure, with a new album called With_Teeth. The self imposed exile of Trent Reznor has recently been covered in the media, but his time off has paid off with a memorable result. 13 songs, all showing Reznor's trademark anger at himself and the rest of the world.
On first impressions, the package is a departure from what is the industry norm. There are no booklets, no lyrics printed out...just a simplistic cardboard and plastic case with a very simple design. For those who insist on knowing the lyrics, a file has been placed at nin.com which is an amazing file to play around with. Especially with the album running on your computer. You might see it when you try it out. As well, we have the first picture of Reznor in a package since Pretty Hate Machine.
My review is based on one listen of With_Teeth. Just a first impression.
All the Love in the World seems a little light for a Nine Inch Nails song. The piano sounds very good for the song.
You Know What You Are? is the one song on the entire disc I could have done without. I wasn't impressed with it the first time I heard it, and I'm still not impressed. It seemed like an attempt at an older style song, but it lacks the artistic drive that the older songs had.
The Collector sounds like vintage Trent Reznor. The drumming is very hypnotic.
The Hand That Feeds feels like a change in direction for Nine Inch Nails, but it's a good change in direction. Trent sounds good in this song, almost like he didn't take time off from performing, and the song has a driving feel to it. Some parts of the song sounded like the A-Team theme song, but that could just be me.
Love is Not Enough begins to sound like older material, but as it progresses the song becomes better. The guitar, while good, is nowhere near as good as the percussion in this song. The drums really make this song. Trent returns to his Pretty Hate Machine "you did this to me" formula and works it to perfection.
Every Day is Exactly the Same opens with a haunting sound that is extremely well done. This could have been the hidden gem on the entire album (but you'll see why below) as it is a great song. I found that the percussion at the end was very well executed.
With Teeth disappointed me at first. It grew on me as it went on, and the ending saved the song. I'm not entirely sure why the song didn't fit with me at first.
Only seemed like something that belonged on a Boney M disco record (tell me it doesn't belong with anything from Nightflight to Venus...). The funky guitar was really way too disco for me. About halfway through the song, my left speaker started adding extra sounds, and the song did finally sound better to me by the end.
Getting Smaller was probably the angriest sounding song on the entire album. I liked the synth guitar in the background.
Sunspots sounded like it was a very late addition to The Downward Spiral. Much of the song ended up sounding like it belonged there instead of here. The whole dum, dum... dum, dum... dum, dum, da da da da dum sound from twelve years ago (can it really be that long?), which is almost mimicked here, really made this song. Definitely one of the better songs on the disc.
The Line Begins to Blur had a very bipolar feel. First you have Trent in the background screaming, but the sound doesn't quite come through. Then you have Trent in the foreground talking, and the message becomes a lot clearer. This song seems to be a lot more personal than some of the others.
Beside You In Time is the best song on this whole thing. I'd buy the entire CD just for this song. It's THAT good. From the first moment it started until it finished, I was stuck in front of my computer with my eyes closed just listening to this song. Everything else in the world came to a halt for the duration of this song. In fact, I thought it was the ending of The Line Begins To Blur and thought "Damn, that is one long song, but it sounds so good.". Best on the whole thing.
Right Where It Belongs was not what I was expecting, but it was a beautiful piece of work. The mixture of synth sounds and piano didn't always work well in the song, but as a whole it does the job and does it well.
WITH_TEETH delivers what Trent Reznor promised: a harsh mixture of anger and sounds. While I could have done away with one song, and had two or three others made a little harder, the album as a whole is a decent effort. I do expect artists to evolve over time, and Reznor has definitely shown his evolution as an artist. I cannot say that this is a perfect album; none of Reznor's work can be seen as "perfect". However, this is a brilliant album which hopefully will signal the return Nine Inch Nails into the spotlight.
Addendum: Trent Reznor's battle with addiction can be read in the lyrics to two songs. If you read the lyrics to Hurt from The Downward Spiral, a song about addiction, Reznor says:
On first impressions, the package is a departure from what is the industry norm. There are no booklets, no lyrics printed out...just a simplistic cardboard and plastic case with a very simple design. For those who insist on knowing the lyrics, a file has been placed at nin.com which is an amazing file to play around with. Especially with the album running on your computer. You might see it when you try it out. As well, we have the first picture of Reznor in a package since Pretty Hate Machine.
My review is based on one listen of With_Teeth. Just a first impression.
All the Love in the World seems a little light for a Nine Inch Nails song. The piano sounds very good for the song.
You Know What You Are? is the one song on the entire disc I could have done without. I wasn't impressed with it the first time I heard it, and I'm still not impressed. It seemed like an attempt at an older style song, but it lacks the artistic drive that the older songs had.
The Collector sounds like vintage Trent Reznor. The drumming is very hypnotic.
The Hand That Feeds feels like a change in direction for Nine Inch Nails, but it's a good change in direction. Trent sounds good in this song, almost like he didn't take time off from performing, and the song has a driving feel to it. Some parts of the song sounded like the A-Team theme song, but that could just be me.
Love is Not Enough begins to sound like older material, but as it progresses the song becomes better. The guitar, while good, is nowhere near as good as the percussion in this song. The drums really make this song. Trent returns to his Pretty Hate Machine "you did this to me" formula and works it to perfection.
Every Day is Exactly the Same opens with a haunting sound that is extremely well done. This could have been the hidden gem on the entire album (but you'll see why below) as it is a great song. I found that the percussion at the end was very well executed.
With Teeth disappointed me at first. It grew on me as it went on, and the ending saved the song. I'm not entirely sure why the song didn't fit with me at first.
Only seemed like something that belonged on a Boney M disco record (tell me it doesn't belong with anything from Nightflight to Venus...). The funky guitar was really way too disco for me. About halfway through the song, my left speaker started adding extra sounds, and the song did finally sound better to me by the end.
Getting Smaller was probably the angriest sounding song on the entire album. I liked the synth guitar in the background.
Sunspots sounded like it was a very late addition to The Downward Spiral. Much of the song ended up sounding like it belonged there instead of here. The whole dum, dum... dum, dum... dum, dum, da da da da dum sound from twelve years ago (can it really be that long?), which is almost mimicked here, really made this song. Definitely one of the better songs on the disc.
The Line Begins to Blur had a very bipolar feel. First you have Trent in the background screaming, but the sound doesn't quite come through. Then you have Trent in the foreground talking, and the message becomes a lot clearer. This song seems to be a lot more personal than some of the others.
Beside You In Time is the best song on this whole thing. I'd buy the entire CD just for this song. It's THAT good. From the first moment it started until it finished, I was stuck in front of my computer with my eyes closed just listening to this song. Everything else in the world came to a halt for the duration of this song. In fact, I thought it was the ending of The Line Begins To Blur and thought "Damn, that is one long song, but it sounds so good.". Best on the whole thing.
Right Where It Belongs was not what I was expecting, but it was a beautiful piece of work. The mixture of synth sounds and piano didn't always work well in the song, but as a whole it does the job and does it well.
WITH_TEETH delivers what Trent Reznor promised: a harsh mixture of anger and sounds. While I could have done away with one song, and had two or three others made a little harder, the album as a whole is a decent effort. I do expect artists to evolve over time, and Reznor has definitely shown his evolution as an artist. I cannot say that this is a perfect album; none of Reznor's work can be seen as "perfect". However, this is a brilliant album which hopefully will signal the return Nine Inch Nails into the spotlight.
Addendum: Trent Reznor's battle with addiction can be read in the lyrics to two songs. If you read the lyrics to Hurt from The Downward Spiral, a song about addiction, Reznor says:
If I could start again,
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
Reading the lyrics to All the Love in the World from [With_Teeth], Reznor completes the circle:
Looks as though the past is here to stay
I've become a million miles away
I've become a million miles away
Just thought you might like that...
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