downdb.net

Seemingly out of nowhere, Trent Reznor has released a new instrumental album.

2007′s Year Zero was surprisingly good, coming as it did after a long dry-spell. Throughout the late Nineties and early 2000′s, Reznor seemed tired and devoid of new ideas. Year Zero, while not a huge change in direction musically, had an energy that had been largely absent from his work since The Downward Spiral. More importantly, it broke his long streak of writing songs based solely on his own emotional turmoil.

Ghosts I-IV is similarly energetic and makes for an engaging listen.

Reznor’s other double-album, 1999′s The Fragile, sounded as though he had thrown a bunch of stuff against a wall to see what stuck. As with many double-albums, much of that stuff fell to the floor. So far, this one doesn’t seem to suffer from that problem. I’m still trying to put my finger on exactly why not—the ablum’s 36 tracks span a ton of different styles, from quiet piano to sample-based industrial, and there’s no lyrical theme to tie them together. Nonetheless, it still comes off sounding like an album, rather than a collection of individual tracks.

It’s also worth noting that, rather than going through a label, Reznor is offering Ghosts I-IV in multiple formats and versions on his website (http://ghosts.nin.com). For five bucks, you can download the whole thing in DRM-free MP3, FLAC, or Apple Lossless format. At the upper end, $300 gets you the “Ultra Deluxe Limited Edition Package”, and there are a range of choices in between.

With Radiohead and now Nine Inch Nails going direct to fans/customers, one can only hope that more artists will follow.