Ghosts V: Together & Ghosts VI: Locusts - Nine inch Nails: Review
Nine Inch Nails
is a Cleveland based industrial rock and metal outfit fronted by Trent Reznor who has been pushing the envelope of rock music since the late 80's. After departing from a major label in the 2000's the band released Ghosts I-IV a long ambient style soundtrack record, and earlier this year released two more records both over an hour long to serve as the next installments in this series.
Review By Lavender:
While my love for Trent Reznor's music and Nine Inch Nails in general is no secret I also have a ton of admiration for Ghosts as well as Trent and Atticus' work on various soundtracks. So I was excited to dive into these albums and first heard them back in March when they were released. But given the nature of the music and the fact that it was over 2 and a half hours of material, well, I put it off. But here on a slow week I'm finally getting around to properly reviewing the records and in short if ambient music is your thing listen to Together and if you like it then listen to Locusts too.
Both of these records came out on the same day but the number of their release seems intentional. Ghost V: Together is the better and more conventional of these two records and the one I feel more comfortable blindly recommending. The record is 8 tracks and it's mostly highlights. Letting Go While Holding On opens the record with a very true to form ambient sound, deep watery synth lines with a textured spacious atmosphere. The song doesn't have the most tangible progression but it does clearly rise by the end with a blissful layer of sound taking the song over completely by its finale. Together on the other hand is a soft piano led track with a little bit more going on in the background. The atmosphere is just as textured but gives off a much busier impression with sounds fading in and out of each other across it's 10 minutes. It is a conventionally composed piece but I like it nonetheless.
Out In The Open I quite enjoy with a dynamic piano phrase taking up the foreground and an angular pulsating ambience in the background. It's a compelling sound even after the track has progressed passed its initial piano. Apart is the longest song here and probably my favorite. It starts off as a quieter more spacious song which only briefly reaches into more frontal phases at points during its first half. The song is one of the most triumphant and ascendant here and at times sections of it sound almost heavenly yet I'm never disappointed when it falls back to earth. For being the longest song her it feels comfortable in its composition and rewarding throughout.
On the other hand Your Touch is the shortest track and the only one with rigid electronics in the instrumental. While the buzzing alien sounds probably wouldn't have been compelling for 10 minutes I really enjoy this track as it is. The closing track Still Right Here is definitely a change of pace from the rest of the record. After an ambient intro the song suddenly erupts into an industrial electronica piece with crashing percussion and driving synth leads. It is one of the only instrumentally dense moments on the album and it leads into a droning outro for the record. Despite the change of pace it is a fitting closer, keep that in mind for the next record.
With Faith gets off to one of the weaker starts of any song here mostly because the clanky keys feel out of place alongside the ethereal yet sort of haunting background. Thankfully the song does have a progression and the space works its way into a brighter more shrill sounds that fit a little better. Hope We Can Again is the opposite getting off to a great start with a softer and less driving passage. After this it picks up with some very fuzzy even chilling distortion that leads into an overwhelming industrial warble. The track goes on for almost another three minutes after this however and after the track has already hit its climax this part feels like an outro going on for a bit too long.
Together is closer to conventional ambient records than it's counterpart but I think that really works in its favor. With nuance in its composition and detail in its sounds there is a lot to like about the record even if it isn't necessarily the most groundbreaking. It is certainly an experience I recommend for fans of ambient music, soundtrack music, or interesting sound play in general. 7/10
Locusts
The second of these records is longer, and features a focus on more smaller tracks rather than just a few long ones. However some of the longest songs on this record are satisfying in similar ways to Together.
The Cursed Clock opes off the record with some haunting piano phrases in front of a distant ambient background. The track creeps along slowly progressing without ever losing that very haunting atmosphere and even expanding on it in the final moments to make for a good opening track. Around Every Corner is one of the only two 10+ minute songs here and I think it is pretty great. It kicks off with a louder moment before working its way into a nuanced piano passage. There is a tighter and more claustrophobic sound to this one that sounds like genuine horror move score at points. The song finished its composition with a dive into the minimal not quite abandoning its sound space but using planky piano sounds to make it more hollow for a great track.
The Worriment Waltz is the most minimalist point on the first half of the record with keys that are even further obscured under a layer of fuzz like it's a Caretaker song. This distortion clearly takes over and grows stronger and stronger until there isn't much semblance of any tangible instrumentation left in the haze. While not all of the song is perfect I do think it's an entertaining and worthwhile composition. Turn This Off Please is the longest track here and it's fittingly dense in its composition working through a number of smaller phases in its runtime. Even though not ever section of the song is perfect I do enjoy most of it including the long fadeout that the track ends on. Finally Just Breathe is one of the most challenging songs here in a weird way. If ambient music could be jagged I think this is it with some very loud key blips that come at times where it feels more like they are interrupting the space than existing alongside it. When the synth layered ambience rises to a loud shrill peak throughout the song it is grating but weirdly rewarding and a standout moment.
Run Like Hell is one of the records first shorter tracks but it keeps up the momentum of the hot start well with driving percussion and brass instrumentation. I think the track is pretty thrilling and the building moment of sonic progression help add a major punch to the songs big breakdown. A Really Bad Night is another big highlight and a point where I like the piano quite a bit once again. Despite the simplicity the tracks atmosphere is quite rich and textured, I love the moments of descending ambience that sound like being lowered into a grave making for an eerie and fascinating song.
Some of the smaller tracks here and there don't really do much for me but the record only really has one big miss and it's the track When It Happens. The song has some very loud chimes that come off a lot more annoying than I think was intended. There is a lot going on in the song but it's hard to make out much of any of it when the aggravating clanging is reverberating away in the background. The second half of the song is a little better but is it still more of a jarring interruption than a track that helps the albums flow. Almost Down is one of the most natural sounding songs on the entire record for the closer with some clanky percussion and bright atmosphere. The record is also the least dejected sounding track here with a notably easier tone. Switching it up for the last track is clearly a theme here but this one doesn't work out nearly as well, while I would like the song fine out of context it feels weird and anti-climactic to end Locusts off here.
Despite it's flaws I still enjoyed Locusts and I think there is a lot here to like. While it's nearly 90 minute runtime is certainly felt by ambient standards this record is lively. I think this is something closer to a soundtrack compositionally and sonically, but not all of these tracks would help make an accompanying film scene much better. 6/10
The covers for Ghost V and Ghost Vi are the definition of straight to the point minimalism and I love it. Sometimes we (especially me) get tied up in visuals and in music you rarely need visuals to go along with the sound. The minimalistic design allows you to only focus on the music which is what many artists only want. They are clean and simple. Would the make for a dynamic album cover on a record, not so much but there is a whole log of room for experimenting and evolving. 5/10
For more ambient side albums check out my review of Clarence Clarity's Dead Screen Scrolls here
