Although Trent Reznor has been tried and been found guilty for taste crimes in the international court of pop-cultural opinion (his semi-legendary and frighteningly authentic pseudo snuff-movie, the Peter Christopherson-directed Broken, remains banned on this side of the Atlantic) personally speaking, I have generally found the singer’s fascination with extreme horror imagery, S&M and general underground depravity to be the least startling aspect of his estimable oeuvre.
No – to me, the most shocking element of NIN’s macabre universe has always been its sheer emotional honesty. And going by With Teeth, Reznor is still pissed off about plenty in 2005. Devoid of more sensual tracks like ‘A Warm Place’ and ‘La Mer’, which at least offered temporary respite on the emotionally draining epics The Downward Spiral and The Fragile, With Teeth is probably closest to Broken in terms of sheer unrelenting sonic assault. It kicks off with ‘All The Love In The World’, which builds from sparse electro beginnings into an overwhelming wall of sound, over which Reznor screams, “How come you get all the love in the world?”
The ensuing ‘You Know What You Are’ and ‘The Collector’ (which features some nice eerie jazz piano strongly reminiscent of Bowie’s heavily NIN-influenced ‘The Heart’s Filthy Lesson’ – industrial pop will eat itself, indeed) retain the same punishing textures, until the magnificent ‘The Hand That Feeds’ lurches into view. An absolutely cracking electro-rock stomper, its barnstorming rhythms offer conclusive proof that Reznor has been keeping a keen eye on developments in the NYC dance/rock underground.
At the heart of it all, as Coil once eloquently put it, are two of Reznor’s strongest tracks to date, ‘Sunspots’ and ‘Only’. The former is based around a supremely sinister bass-line and pounding drum track, while the latter features an early ‘80s-style synth-pop riff and corrosive guitars, and sounds like no one so much as latter-day Blur.
The final three tracks, ‘The Line Begins To Blur’ (yet another reference to Damon and co., perhaps?), ‘Beside You In Time’ and ‘Right Where It Belongs’, meanwhile, are Warped experiments in unsettling atmospherics, and show that while Reznor may be bruised, he’s still defiant.
With Teeth is, because Nine Inch Nails are, difficult listening. But as ever with Reznor’s music, it just hurts so good.