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Letter to the editor

Arts

New Nails album stuck in the past

By JOSH KORR
Published May 1, 2005

Getting into Nine Inch Nails requires a willing suspension of maturity.

Trent Reznor's rage can be vicariously thrilling, but it's an angst full of generalized "things," "it" and "pain." It's never clear exactly what's bugging him.

On With Teeth, the first NIN studio album in six years, the 39-year-old Reznor's act is wearing a bit thin. There are some great grooves and his screams are as beautiful as ever, but the music that used to balance the sophomoric attitude hasn't moved forward.

Reznor has apparently spent the years since 1999's The Fragile in a depressed haze of addiction and dirty hotel rooms. But Reznor doesn't get the benefit of a backstory; the album has to stand on its own.

There are a few hints of specificity - emotional, if not lyrical - on With Teeth. "Why do you get all the love in the world," he croons on All the Love in the World, with an awed longing built of chronic self-hatred. The cracked, syncopated yelp of "There are times, plenty of times, I wish I could let it go" combines with frantic start-stop drums on The Collector to convey the thoughts pinballing through his mind.

But what's the "it" the singer can't let go of?

The CD is filled with similarly vague lines and cliches. On Sunspots: "Sometimes, I forget I'm alive." On Beside You in Time: "I am all alone this time around. . . . Feel the little pieces bleeding through." On Right Where It Belongs: "Feel the hollowness inside of your heart."

On Reznor's first three albums, his genius melding of industrial and rock mitigated the lyrical shortcomings.

Somewhat Damaged, from The Fragile, sounds like it's being pumped directly out of Reznor's head. The cold technology mixes with human warmth to go beyond what man and machine can do alone.

But With Teeth has the worst of both Reznor worlds: banal lyrics and often pedestrian music. Love Is Not Enough is built on a static bass line that sounds like a grizzly bear with heartburn. The Line Begins to Blur has similarly ugly bass and unprofessionally distorted drums.

It's not surprising that Reznor, by clinging to an already achieved vision, falls short on With Teeth. Forced rage and pity can only go so far, and it may be time for him to grow up.

- JOSH KORR, Times staff writer

[Last modified April 28, 2005, 09:14:03]