With Teeth...

It doesn't happen very often, but I am man enough to admit it when it does. Sometimes I am wrong. Sometimes my preconseptions of things lead me to ignore what could enrich my life. One of these things was Nine Inch Nails. Pretty much as long as they've been around I've dismissed them as goth nonsense for school kids to shock their parents with. Y'know, like that Manson fellow. Look mum, they've got makeup, milky lenses and swearing

Except, there is more to MM and NIN that. Although they are widely different bands, both of the creative driving forces (er.. that's the frontmen) are extremly articulate, creative individuals, pushing the boundries of music and video production. But you wouldn't know it if you only ever listen to Closer and The Beautiful People

Now I'm still not a fan of Manson, but the latest Nine Inch Nails album, With Teeth (which actually dropped last year) has converted me. It's a expertly produced album which balances it's heavier moments with sparse electronica. The drums (provided by Dave Grohl on some tracks) are pushed high in the mix giving a really close feeling to the sound, and Reznor's vocals move from whisper to scream in very little space. It's difficult to describe a record like this without using poncy words like subtext, manifesto and post-modernism, so I'm not going to bother. But you should definatly give it a listen if you are at all interested in electronica or just fancy something that isn't just another guitar band. I've posted two videos from the new album, and a life performance of Closer, because it is still a brilliant song. The video for Only in particular, is an amazing piece of subtle computer imagery. I still can't quite work out how they've done it

Nine Inch Nails - Only



Nine Inch Nails - The Hand That Feeds


Nine Inch Nails - Hurt