Quote Originally Posted by Leviathant View Post
What about Not So Pretty Now? Oomf. I mean, hey, they can't all be best in class, right?

I wonder how many tracks on this album even have a guitar. None of them are particularly uptempo. Any live drums anywhere? I'm very glad this doesn't sound like a Nine Inch Nails album - although, in a way, it sounds more like what people who don't listen to Nine Inch Nails probably think Nine Inch Nails sounds like.

I said it in a Facebook comment on someone's post, I'll say it again here. I sincerely hope Trent Reznor continues to make music that pisses Nine Inch Nails fans off.

I'm not really sure where "safe" comes into play - what would daring be? A dubstep album? A double disc of instrumentals? A throwback to early 90s Lords of Acid? Moar yelling and faster beats? Unusual time signatures?
Selective comparisons aside, i think this is kind of mischaracterization of the camp that's sort of unimpressed with this thing.

Other than the lack of aggression, I think it does sound pretty Nailsy... like a natural evolution of the Year Zero sound. I think he's improved on that lot here. But it's definitely not "pissing off" any fans, except for the guy that keeps shouting during "Hurt." I like a lot of Trent's recent work, especially "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." I thought he really stepped it up there, so it's not like I'm demanding a sequel to TDS or something.

So when I safe that it feels "safe" I'm saying that it feels within creative space that trent has already covered, maybe not doing enough to distance itself from Nine Inch Nails or other previous projects. It also feels very accessible over all.

The song that most breaks the mold here is "Ice Age," which has a lot going on in a relatively minimal song. It feels a little bit like new ground, and there's a lot of dynamism in it. It carries forward and steps up some of the funk advertised in the first HTDA ep, which seems to have gone away almost entirely. I realize that it's also pretty accessible, but it's a really odd song, especially in the greater context. The double dipping rubs me the wrong way, though.

Anyway I realize I'm in the minority with this, and I'm not really trying to ruin it for anyone, just throwing in my 2 cents.