Trent Reznor has been busy. He’s been soundtracking things, winning awards for said soundtracks, and writing songs for video games. And finally, in September, Reznor announced the return of his post-Nine Inch Nails project How to Destroy Angles (now typeset as How to destroy angels_), along with the rather surprising revelation that HTDA would be releasing new music on Columbia Records. HTDA–made up of Reznor, his wife Mariqueen Maandig, longtime Reznor collaborator Atticus Ross, and NIN art director Rob Sheridan–last released a self titled EP way back in June of 2010.
And now we have An omen_, the first of two releases slated to come out of their relationship with Columbia. The EP’s title is apt–the music here is quite different than HTDA’s previous release, and I believe that Reznor is simply giving us a taste of what’s to come on HTDA’s first full-length. The band’s first EP was pretty good, but it suffered from the fact that it essentially sounded like a Nine Inch Nails album. Reznor had the chance to do something truly unique. Instead, he simply wrote Nine Inch Nails songs and had Mariqueen sing them. He didn’t take advantage of having a vocalist with a different range from his own, and the entire thing felt like a missed opportunity.
Not so with An omen_. While lead single “Keep it together” is indebted to the sounds that Reznor pioneered while in NIN, the rest of the EP sounds much more varied and unique. It’s pretty easy to tell that Reznor’s songwriting has been profoundly affected by his work in ambient music (Ghosts I-IV, the two soundtracks, et al.). An omen_ sees Reznor exploring the same icy cold texture and atmosphere that colored The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo‘s soundtrack. This is readily apparent on the album’s best cut, “Ice age.” The song, which features Maandig singing over jittery, plucked acoustic guitar, is a wonderful example of Reznor finally writing to HTDA’s strengths. Maandig’s vocals are front and center and, unlike much of the material on How to Destroy Angels, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than her singing the melody. The entire air of the song recalls some of the more panicked matterial on Dragon Tattoo; it pulls some influence from that album without sounding totally derivative.
Both “The sleep of reason produces monsters” and “On the wing” sit in the same boat as “Ice age”: they’re enjoyable, synth-led and mellow, and the latter is one of the poppiest songs that Reznor has ever written. They’re both quite good. However, at the end of the album, Reznor falls back into Nine Inch Nails mode. On “The loop closes,” Reznor sings in the same menacing style that he’s been using since Pretty Hate Machine. It’s still a good song, but, given the freshness of the preceding tracks, it feels a little rote. The album ends with “Speaking in tongues,” which is probably the most “industrial” track here. That being said, it’s plodding and a little boring, and never seems to really get anywhere. It’s a disappointing end to an otherwise very solid EP.
And that’s all An omen_ is. This isn’t a spectacular release by any means. I believe that this release is meant to serve as a primer for the band’s upcoming full-length. Reznor has indicated that he’s reviving Nine Inch Nails, and I’m a bit worried that that will leave HTDA completely in the dust. That would be unfortunate. The band does just enough new things to keep me interested, and I’m pretty excited to see what next year brings.
