Music Monday: NIN “Hesitation Marks”

Original image found at Consequence Of Sound

After a five year hiatus on new music, Nine Inch Nails returns with “Hesitation Marks”

The band is back together, with mostly new members. There was some shuffling around the past few months, which left a few open holes that were quickly filled. Back on lead guitar is long time member Robin Finck and of course Trent Reznor as the lead and creative genius behind this band.

The album is a nice reminder that NIN is still relevant in the music world. Since 1988, they have created many songs that have mattered in the alternative/industrial genre. I rarely run into anyone anymore that hasn’t heard of NIN.

Track Listing

1. “The Eater of Dreams”
2. “Copy of A”
3. “Came Back Haunted”
4. “Find My Way”
5. “All Time Low”
6. “Disappointed”
7. “Everything”
8. “Satellite”
9. “Various Methods of Escape”
10. “Running”
11. “I Would for You”
12. “In Two”
13. “While I’m Still Here”
14. “Black Noise”

Brilliance

For myself as a long time NIN fan, it’s hard to top 1999’s “The Fragile” The double album had so much creative going for it. “With Teeth”, the album that came out six years later, is another favorite of mine that I think was very creative with some pop hooks and beats that also found their way to my ears numerous times. So when the new album came out, I was hoping it would be good and have some original creativeness back to it. For the most part, it does.

My only nit pick here is a few songs like “While I’m Still Here” and “Black Noise” which are the final two songs on the standard album. They are ok, but they don’t appear to be all that creative in their creation. More along the lines of re-create, which if you have heard Trent’s other band How To Destroy Angels, the sound is very familiar to the songs on HTDA albums and EPs. I except some bleed over, for obvious reasons, but one of the main reasons I like NIN is for the sheer incredible details that make up all of the music.

With that out of the way, the rest of the album is brilliant. From “Copy Of A” to “Came Back Haunted” to “In Two”, I can’t say enough great about the flow of these songs. Going into the pop area, “Everything” is a gem of musical greatness. It’s unexpected back beat and tune has me toe-tapping. Almost channelling The Cure in both guitar and lyrically. “Satellite” has a slight disco-like beat to it, which sounds odd, but it works so very well.

The standard album has 14 tracks, with the deluxe offering 3 additional remix versions of “Find My Way”, “All Time Low” and “While I’m Still Here”. Those who purchased the album directly from NIN.com also have access to digital versions of the album in Apple Lossless, FLAC and high-quality MP3 formats.

After five years, NIN can still make a great album. While it doesn’t push my two favorites off their perches, it is enjoyable and one that I think will stay around on my iDevices for some time.