Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV (2008)

The first CD of this 4-disc set is available for free; the whole thing can be downloaded for $5. I went ahead and paid up in the interest of supporting new music distribution models, same as I did with In Rainbows; although Trent Reznor's sour grapes about Radiohead beating him to the punch are offputting at best, I won't count it against him.

The main reason I'm willing to cut him some slack is because I like this material so much...but I must admit to a heavy bias. Ghosts is clearly inspired by, and is a direct descendant of, Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Vol. II, which is ingrained into my subconscious as I use it to put myself to sleep in unfamiliar environments. The resemblance isn't surprising, as Aphex has contributed remixes to past NIN releases. The two also share a maverick sensibility and a fondness for exploiting the dichotomy between reflective melancholy and abrasive industrial timbres.

Ghosts echoes SAWII in every way, from its being a multi-disc release of instrumentals to the conceit of tracks titled only by accompanying pictures. However, while the Aphex Twin album, true to the genre stereotypes implied by its name, remains contemplative--i.e. beatless--as it shifts between moods of discontent, placidity, and dread, Ghosts is more immediate and driving, lurching from song to song with jarring non-transitions.

Accusations by fans of NIN's more accessible material that Ghosts amounts to a series of half-baked ideas for fully fleshed-out (pop) songs are understandable, but irrelevant. While "Closer," the big hit off 1994's The Downward Spiral, remains a case study in how abhorrent lyrical content can be sneaked into the mainstream by combining it with excellently catchy hooks, by and large Reznor's vocals in NIN only serve to bludgeon the listener with his comically nihilistic perspective, instead of leaving the music open to multiple interpretations. Ghosts' strength lies in its avoidance of those staid tropes.