the slip finds NIN in a much more confident place, as the record clocks in at 43 minutes, making it quite concise compared to the hour-long year zero or the sprawling hour and forty-five minutes that is the fragile. even the recent release ghosts i-iv was a bit self indulgent, consisting of 36 tracks and running almost two hours (although to be fair, it was technically divided into 4 EPs). regardless, it’s definitely refreshing to see a lean NIN album. the record recalls the clean production and highly confessional style of with teeth, while also drawing from year zero’s method of addressing personal questions through politics, although reznor is far less reliant this time on finger-pointing and preaching. NIN are as loud and noisy as ever, as they wreak a digital havoc throughout. unfortunately, reznor’s “art rock” tendencies eventually kick in and he erroneously relies solely on his piano to convey emotion on both “lights in the sky” and “corona radiata;” however it is interesting how the two songs overlap. while not without it’s flaws, the slip is still a surprisingly intense and focused release, especially considering the amount of time it took to record this album compared to NIN’s previous, more conceptual albums.
Filed under: Album Review , 2008, NIN, nine inch nails, the slip
