Review:'How to Destroy Angels' 'How to Destroy Angels EP'
- Genre: 'Industrial'
- Release Date: '1st June 2010 (Download) 6th July 2010 (CD)'
Our Rating:
Time was when I thought Trent Reznor was a demigod. 'Pretty Hate Machine' was on a loop for almost a year, and then along came 'Broken' and 'Fixed' and annihilated everything that had come before. However, by the time of 'The Fragile' it felt like the force or rage and the invention that it spawned had dissipated, and I stopped following Nine Inch Nails' output quite so obsessively. The later albums, 'With Teeth' and 'Year Zero' were ok... but nothing more. Perhaps it was because NIN had pushed the parameters so far early on that these releases seemed desperate to return to the accessible but monumentally ballsy formula of 'Head Like a Hole.' In this content, disappointment was inevitable. I took the free download of 'The Slip,' played it once and left it at that, and wasn't exactly distraught when Trent called time on NIN.
I had mixed feelings about his new project, How to Destroy Angels. I can't think of one decent husband and wife band. So, skirting the possibility that this could be Reznor's Wings or Plastic Ono Band, and also making no assumptions regarding the fact the 'band' appears to have taken its name from a Coil EP from 1984, I attempted to approach this six-tracker with an open mind. I was cynical (Mrs Reznor, aka Mariqueen Maandig was essentially a backing vocalist in her former band, the lightweight West Indian Girl), but wanted it to be exciting, a new beginning.
It starts off promisingly enough. Of course, there's more than a hint of NIN about it, but then, Reznor has a very distinctive sound, albeit one that's been oft emulated. 'The Space In Between' is dark and minimalist, a hammering industrial drum half-buried beneath a droning sonorous synth bass. It could be New Order circa 'Movement.' Maandig's vocals are low, a half-whispered drawl. It could be an early Garbage B-side or Curve on Ketamine.
'Parasite' is a mess of distorted percussion and grimy, fuzzy sequenced bass topped with breathy vocals and discordant treble. It's not bad, but does remind me rather of 'Reptile' from 'The Downward Spiral' and consequently suffers under the weight of comparison.
'Fur Lined' takes a turn for the poppy, with a dancey drum 'n' bass beat, and really isn't very good by anyone's standards, and from hereon in it all gets a bit predictable.
In a way, Reznor has become a victim of his own success: given the enormous impact made by NIN, and the influence they (he) exerted (and continue to), it's hardly surprising that there are countless copyists. Now, his own work sounds like that of those who have been inspired by him: it simply doesn't stand out any more. In addition to this, given the tendency toward the mid-pace, this EP sounds awfully restrained, tame, and not just a little bit sluggish. 'The Believers' sounds like several previous songs hashed together, while closer 'A Drowning' is altogether too long and drawn out without any features that hold the attention, ending up as a case of 'A Yawning.'
It may prove to be a grower, but I fear it's not nearly challenging enough or meaty enough or interesting enough to make me want to spend any real time on it. Perhaps I had hoped for too much. Whatever, this is a disappointing introduction to the new project, ultimately lacking any real magic or dynamism.
