Junk ‘n Stuff

This is just a first impression as I only got this CD a few days ago (thx rusty), and I ‘ve been a fan from way back so this maybe will be as subjective as it can be, but all awhile its what I personally felt while listening to the newest output from the mind of Mr. TR.

At first, Year Zero uncovered perfectly. The opening track “HYPERPOWER!” is an excellent welcome mat as it instantly blows up in your ear, setting up the mood to the journey ahead and stopping at the just right moment for you to want more (didn’t fancy much of the title though.., its like something that comes out of a retro-Japanese Manga movie :P). Brilliant drumming by Josh Freeze. He also performed in “Capital G”, but the intro sounded more like a Michael Jackson than NIN song (“The Way You Make Me Feel” anybody?).  The album then flows smoothly as it goes from the ear-friendly “Survivalism”, to the moody tracks such as “My Violent heart”, all the way to the closure “Zero Sum”. I have to say that the arrangements of the songs in album is better than “With Teeth”, kinda like “The Downward Spiral” (THE album btw) as you can’t help but feel that TR has carefully put out each songs in order to get the perfect experience to Year Zero (try putting it in Shuffle Mode than you know what I mean :D). Going through the first few songs is quite digestible, but on the latter part of the album, can’t help but feel a bit perplexed. On the bright side TR has really cranked his electronic industrial buzz n clank feel way, way up back!!.  He put a great deal of 80’s sound into this album while turning and mesh it with fresh, out of this world sounds from today.  TR has never been afraid to express himself honestly; from being totally awesome to downright corny (which is also totally awesome: D) and it shows clearly in his latest work.  But much as I do admire the crazy loops and samplings (at first you think “damn!! any kid learning Fruity Loops for 2 hours can do this” and the next you were left brainless at the convoluted pitch and squeak blasting through), but there’s this lacking feeling of incompleteness without the songs with tight violent guitar riffs, throbbing, thundering, bursting unbelievable beats, and, the most importantly, TR’s agonizing scream walloping and blanketing it all…., somehow it’s just not a NIN album with the kinda songs that made that emotion of, as my friend would say…” would make you suddenly wanna jump out of your room and beat the crap out of the first someone you see“. I’m not trying to say all of NIN’s song should always be devastatingly loud (TR’s scream is as frightfully surreal as his whisper, or maybe whimper: P), its just TR always managed to find the perfect balance of mixing songs of both “I’m F&$Ked” and “I’m gonna F&$K someone soo bad” kinda feel in one album (sometimes in one song) ,

Didn’t got into the lyrics part yet.., I heard that this is a concept album about a future “military and religion driven” apocalyptic world. I always thought that TR, even in producing a complex conceptual record, is always just pouring his heart out on how one view oneself and things around him, not a conjectural near future thingamajig (gone shamanistic  are we ?? :P) dunno, gonna have to hear and understand it first and maybe I could say more about this.

SUMMARY: a different, but yet another great turnout from the man himself. A true tribute to the sound of the 80’s while injecting it with fresh blood of sound of today.  It’s like reminiscing Pretty Hate Machine concocted with Things Falling Apart. It’s not what everybody expect as its missing some of the old NIN angst-fierceness feeling, and it’s not an “intense climax with fury” record as his previous works, but it’s a deeply cryptic album and with a given time, quite a mind blowing experience.  This is not the kind of record that you listen while pounding your dashboard in the middle of traffic jam or while kicking and screaming in private when there’s no one around to fume out your implosion; It’s the kind of record that you put on your headphone in the dead of the night and absorb every resonance and every distorted yet beautiful crafted tones ejected from it; and like any atmospheric piece, you gotta give it time to truly appreciate it. 4 out of 5.

Fave Tracks (currently, always something new each time I listen to it): HYPERPOWER!!, My Violent Heart, God Given, The Greater Good