I'm not an all-around Trent Reznor fan, but I appreciate how he's one of the few big well-known artists who got where he is by doing what he genuinely wants to do. It seems to become increasingly rare as time goes on to be a big artist without constantly catering to the whims of MTV and the radio-listening masses, and Nine Inch Nails is one of the few exceptions that I can think of. His instrumental output is also pretty good. This 36-track album -- comprised of electro-dance tracks, jam-rock tracks, electronic ambient tracks, and somber piano ballad tracks -- sounds like a pleasant travelogue through the mind of a dreaming person, which is fitting considering that Reznor himself said that this album is supposed to be like a "soundtrack for daydreams". All of the tracks are musical "sketches", meaning that they're based around a central motif/phrase/rhythm that was conceived intuitively, and rarely stray from it. Because of this, all of the tracks are fairly repetitious but short, never overstaying their welcome. For the most part, the tracks are restrained enough not to encroach upon a dreaming listener's thoughts, yet developed enough to not be forgettable or boring. Not all of the tracks are zingers, of course -- a few of the ambient ones sound like unimportant experiments that just happened to be caught on recording, and the primitive rock jams are usually tuneless and ugly -- but Nine Inch Nails always have a knack for cathartic and dreamlike moods and marrying unfriendly noise with melodic hooks. You may also be pleasantly surprised at some of the instruments that are used here: Off the top of my head, I remember buckets and chains, vibes, and Eastern instruments being used in different tracks. Any general fan of music is bound to find something of value in this long album.
Favorite track: "28 Ghosts IV"
Least favorite track: "8 Ghosts I"
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