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Kerrang
24. November 2007, #1186
Autor: Catherine Yates
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Y34RZ3ROR3MIX3D (INTERSCOPE) WORDS: CATHERINE YATES PHOTO: LISA JOHNSON TRENT REZNOR GETS REMIXED, WITH VARYING RESULTS. THE RECENT news that Trent Reznor gutted his longest standing touring band of two years to return Nine Inch Nails back to a solo venture shouldn‘t come as much of a surprise to his fans. Reznor has always tinkered and tweaked with the NIN machinery always searched for new definitions of his work, never satisfied to let anything be. Since 1994‘s The Downward Spiral, he‘s released albums filled with definitive songs only to dismantle the music several months later with extensive remix projects, while his revolving door policy now counts a list of former members 18 strong. And then there‘s the fact that his last full-length, Year Zero, released earlier this year, came in tandem with a deliberately complex Orwellian conspiracy theory/multimedia experience that extended even the cover art beyond the physical medium of ink and paper to include anyone who discussed it. It also helped that it was some of his best work in years, and that‘s part of the problem with this sister release of reinterpretations. Whereas Year Zero was a record full of risks and daring Imagination from one mind at a creative high, Y34RZ3ROR3MIX3D, like 1995‘s Further Down The Spiral and 2000‘s Things Falling Apart, sees Reznor throwing out his tracks to a host of disparate sources with names largely alien to the rock world, with equally contrasting visions. Though there‘s few missteps - alt-rapper Saul Williams‘ transformation of Hyperpower into an apocalyptic MC shockwave (retitled appropriately enough as Gunshots By Computer here), or Pirate Robot Midget‘s sleazy clubland treatment of My Violent Heart are respectable enough variations - Reznor‘s own dexterity with studio gadgetry makes his initial ideas hard to match. NY avantgarde groove guru Bill Laswell brings little to Vessel‘s electro grind, while New Order‘s Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Morris approach God Given‘s mutant dance pulse and Zero Sum‘s warped gospel tones with a disappointingly tepid ear. Only Fennesz and Ladytron (the former giving the beautiful In This Twilight a trippy, eye of the storm reshape, the latter working darkwave alchemy with The Beginning Of The End‘s grating guitar-rock) present themselves as replace-the-album track adversaries. Ultimately, there‘s still plenty here for committed NIN fans to explore, but the rest might want to wait for the next instalment proper from the man himself.
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