Over their nearly 40-year career, Nine Inch Nails have carved out a reputation as popular music’s most abrasive and sexually tormented figures. Trent Reznor’s repertoire of industrial floor fillers, more often than not cowritten with Atticus Ross, has soundtracked teen angst and goth nights since 1988, and their new record “Nine Inch Noize” is one of their most club-ready releases yet.
“Nine Inch Noize,” a collaboration with the DJ Boys Noize, is a live mix of some of their biggest hits, including the controversial “The Downward Spiral” classic “Closer” and the more recent single “Copy of a.” It’s a fantastic time capsule of their highly acclaimed Peel It Back tour and recent Coachella sets.
The most compelling thing about “Nine Inch Noize” is how cohesive it sounds. The songs featured on the record sound like one another, despite being written over a period of nearly 30 years. Songs from “The Downward Spiral” mesh perfectly with “Hesitation Marks” cuts and a Soft Cell cover, woven together by Reznor, Ross and Boys Noize’s production.
That’s not to say that the album is homogeneous, though. Each track is a standout in its own right, and the seasoned performers clearly understand how to play their audience. They tease the iconic synth lead from “Closer” a few times to get the crowd moving before the drums and bass come in. The transitions are clean across the board, and the audience reacts accordingly.
My favorite moment on the record is the beginning of “Me, I’m Not,” originally released on the 2007 album “Year Zero.” The opening drum-and-bass beat recalls Reznor and Ross’s iconic soundtrack for David Fincher’s “The Social Network.” They use a nearly identical beat in “The Social Network” track “A Familiar Taste,” down to the synth bass tone and reverb effects. The synchronicity is fun, and “A Familiar Taste” has always been one of my favorite tracks in their catalog.
This is Reznor and Ross’s third studio collaboration with Boys Noize, following the fantastic mixed version of their “Challengers” soundtrack and the “Tron: Ares” soundtrack remix album. Like those records, this is a largely electronic release, which is fine by me. I’ve long been a fan of their film soundtracks and electronic-leaning releases, so an album that casts their hits in an electronic light was primed for success in my book.
If you’re a fan of Nine Inch Nails, or electronic or industrial music in any capacity, “Nine Inch Noize” is a must listen.
