Sigil 04_: Welcome oblivion

[butter_hole]

Christ, okay:

I think the album is incredibly cohesive. It's more Mariqueen's boring vocals, the shitty lyrics and uninspired melodies - and the music I feel like I've already heard ten times before from Trent and Atticus.

MQ's vocals in this are exactly what I expected, but that doesn't make them any less boring / vapid / uninspired / dull / etc. The lyrics are bad Reznor rip-offs and I'd wager that somewhere in her head she purposefully came up with NIN-style lyrics to please Trent, not that I have any idea about her prior work. THAT is my main problem with the album, to get that out of the way. I have nothing against her, I'm not jealous of her and Trent's undying love, I'm not some fanboy asshole, she just sounds out of place and they could have been a lot better.

I really, really hope whatever he's doing with this new NIN stuff has nothing to do with Atticus, nothing to do with his home studio and sounds a little different than a drum machine and the Swarmatron, because after all this, I can barely tell it apart.

I maintain what I said about hoping new NIN is completely separate to everything else, for example, doing away with programmed drums and having Ilan record everything, actually utilizing other musicians permanently etc. Even though I think there's about 10% chance of that actually happening. "I can barely tell it apart" = I misspoke. I'm at work, barely concentrating. Obviously I'm not talking about the tracks that have been literally recycled like the Social Network stuff from Ghosts. And I didn't mean just sound-wise. As a whole:

It's more that he's gone from work with NIN, with Atticus, styled by Rob (Year Zero - The Slip).

Then, he went to work with just Atticus, styled by Rob. (The Social Network).

Then he went and did an EP with Atticus for a different band. And Rob was a part of that. (HTDA EP)

Then he went and worked with Atticus again, styled by Rob. (TGWTDT)

Then he went back to Destroy Angels with Atticus, styled by Rob. And Rob made some glitchy art. When has Rob ever made glitchy, digital-decay art before? Oh right, all through Year Zero and The Social Network.

It's just very derivative, to me. The Wake-Up is just another Hyperpower! mixed with 999,999, for example. TR's fucking constantly appearing piano motif in Hallowed Ground. The apocalyptic themes. The Swarmatron (I'll get back to you on it's exact location but there are parts of Welcome Oblivion that sound like TSN note for note.)

I just feel like Trent needs to do something new, something different. Something with other people, for the first time in ten years.

Look, I'm totally talking out of my ass here. I have no idea what the fuck my point is. But that is damn cool about The Big Comedown drums being in the Bowie remix, I'll have to check that out.