Hannah and Matt on Music: “Ghosts V: Together” by Nine Inch Nails
Matt’s Take:
Having not listened to Nine Inch Nails’ previous “Ghosts” releases, I really went into their newest release blind.
If I had to expect anything, it would have been a bombastic display of Trent Reznor’s heavy and hoarse voice paired alongside pulsating electronic beats.
What I got out of “Ghosts V: Together,” was a whole different beast entirely.
Reznor’s voice is nowhere to be found on this album, (an unbelievable shock to me).
The album serves more as a meditative ambient sound album than an industrial rock record like I have become accustomed to with the band.
With the opening track, “Letting Go While Holding On,” I was certain that the album was just starting the listener off easy.
After the almost 10-minute-long track finished however, I knew that the remaining songs on the record were going to follow suit.
This is not to say that I was disappointed at all with “Ghosts V: Together,” just caught off-guard and introduced to a very different sound.
As for this change in familiar tone and pace, it thankfully comes together perfectly and gives fans an enlightening listen.
While listening to this album in one sitting, I was actually brought back to the album that introduced me to Nine Inch Nails; the score for “The Social Network.”
This score had a huge impact on me when I was 12 years old, and it was the first film score that I ever truly fell in love with.
The ominous humming on many of the tracks, angelic pianos and ingenious synthesizer all brought me back to my first time watching “The Social Network” like a big hit of nostalgia.
For anyone that felt similarly touched by the score for David Fincher’s masterpiece, I strongly urge you to check this album out.
As for fans of Nine Inch Nails’ traditional industrial sound, I still recommend this album because it will probably baffle you at first, but you will definitely see the talent and work that went into it.
Three Standout Tracks: “Letting Go While Holding On,” “With Faith” and “Your Touch.”
Score: 9.2/10
Hannah’s Take:
I have to be completely honest here: before listening to this album, I had never really listened to Nine Inch Nails.
A travesty, I know. I just haven’t really gotten around to giving them a good, fair listen.
My very first reaction upon listening to the first track, “Letting Go While Holding On,” was, “Is this seriously what Nine Inch Nails sound like?”
My assumption going into this album was that their sound would be much more intense and gritty, something you’d expect from an industrial rock group.
I was not at all expecting such an ambient, almost ghost-like tune to open the album. I have to say, I was really into it.
These days, I’m very into music that sounds like it could be the soundtrack to a dystopian novel, and “Ghosts V: Together” accomplished just that.
Then I realized … I have heard Trent Reznor’s work in an actual soundtrack before.
Like Matt’s wave of nostalgia revolving around “The Social Network,” I had the same sort of moment reflecting on Reznor’s work on the score of “Gone Girl.”
Dreamy, eerie and entirely unforgettable, the “Gone Girl” score and “Ghosts V: Together” share the cinematic quality that gets me hooked on an album.
The dreaminess combined with electronic moments displayed during tracks like “Your Touch” resulted in a much more invigorating experience than I originally assumed.
My one gripe about this album is how long some of the tracks are.
I am notorious for having a short attention span and not being able to get as invested in lengthy films, shows and songs as I’d truly like.
I found my thoughts trailing elsewhere when all I really wanted was to immerse myself in the listening experience.
Perhaps this was the band’s intention when creating this album.
Maybe sometimes it is a good thing for music to be so dreamlike that it carries your thoughts to a completely different realm.
Three Standout Tracks: “Out In The Open,” “Your Touch” and “Hope We Can Again.”
Score: 8.7/10