It's no surprise that Trent Reznor once again waited a few years before delivering a new record, as he's taken long breaks many times before. What's surprising is that since 2008, he simply put Nine Inch Nails into hibernation. Getting married and subsequently raising two toddlers probably led to this, but there was also a suspicion of whether or not Reznor took full advantage of those five years. It doesn't take long into "Hesitation Marks" to realize that he didn't simply settle into domestic life. Reznor is too restless an indivdual, but that doesn't mean he hasn't changed since he started a family. If anything, he benefits largely from it, creating a record that glides so easily on his new-found peace. He's not as concerned with his usual turmoil anymore, so instead, he points his songs towards the universal. Since it is 2013, "Hesitation Marks" sets its sights on the dance-floor, albeit one with black lights instead of strobe. It's more electronically based than Nine Inch Nails has been in a long time, each track works on a steady neon pulse. The beats are hardly the only notable thing here: the melodies are also some of Reznor's best, and each song is accompanied with layered harmonies and a lush, hypnotic production. The hooks are also sharp, too, and give "Hesitation Marks" a warmer approach than its predecessors. But make no mistake, Trent Reznor has not gone soft. This is drenched in his signature "black noise" (as he so calls it on the album's last track), but this time, he's also canny enough to differentiate between light and shade, knowing when to let his emotions boil and when to cool off. This gives off a slick illusion of warmth, almost overshadowing how mechnical NIN sometimes is. At its core, this record is still pretty much rooted in industrial rock, and with all music of this genre, typical problems still rear their heads. For the most part, "Hesitation Marks" is much too long, sometimes unnecessarily so, and Reznor's vocals are as hard as ever to understand; a tangled web of hushed diction and muddled syntax. While this is an undeniably appealing record, it's hard to discern what Reznor is even singing about, thus stripping away part of the emotional affections from the tales of a suicide attempt. This would be a major downfall, but the saving grace is that "Hesitation Marks" sounds so good, ultimately obscuring the words anyway. What's most impressive about this record, is that it provides further proof of Trent Reznor's gifts as an artist and songwriter, and he's smart enough to flesh this album out, placing equal balance on rhythm and melody. And while everything NIN has produced since "Year Zero" suggested that Reznor would eventually lose his edge, this album prooves that he can continue to re-invent and refine their music, even 25 years after their truck-stopping debut.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. The Eater of Dreams 2. Copy of A 3. Come Back Haunted
4. Finding
My Way 5. All Time Low 6. Disappointed
7. Everything 8. Satellite 9.
Various Methods of Escape
10. Running 11.
I Would for You 12. In Two
13. While I’m Still Here 14. Black Noise
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