NINE INCH NAILS - Hesitation Marks

We want to say this right away, from the outset, so as to neither raise false hopes nor disappoint anyone, with a spirit that's a bit defensive (and why not, vaguely self-serving), but confident it's the best way to frame any analysis: the return of Nine Inch Nails isn't for everyone. It's not the album that will thrill those who still worship (and rightly so) the trilogy of masterpieces from the start of the band's career, it's not the record that those who appreciated the instrumental turn of "Ghosts I-IV" will see as the great leap forward, it's not a work that overflows with boldness, nor a proper return to the past à-la-"The Slip". None of that. Instead, get ready to celebrate — and this is the last disclaimer — if you've followed Reznor through his parallel ventures, in particular the smooth electronic dark ballads of the How To Destroy Angels project. And now, yes, we can begin.

"Hesitation Marks" first of all confirms the despotic nature of the Nine Inch Nails brand, today more than ever a genuine team led by a Reznor never so determined to push his path forward. Trent does almost everything himself, aided mainly by the now-trusted Alessandro Contini and by two prestigious names like Adrian Belew and Linsdey Buckingham on guitars, ready to reassemble a now-stable line-up for live performances. The shift in direction compared to what we've heard from the act in the past is as decisive as it is coherent and continuous: this is a record where elegance and exquisite care play the role of absolute protagonists. We could call it the Nine Inch Nails' "Delta Machine", and we wouldn't be far off, while if we wanted to connect it to the act's past, our thoughts can only turn to the softer side of "Year Zero". A scratchy, granular electronic sound dominates the scene; anger is replaced by a complex web of chameleon-like moods in the form of melodies and progressions, and this time there's really very little industrial about it. Some will say the songs are missing, the substance to give meaning to a form that borders on perfection. Some have already said it.

And instead? Instead, what's missing is solely and exclusively the NIN of the past, and with them their defining traits. The NIN of the present kick off at full throttle with "Copy Of A", a literal and resigned acknowledgment of the inability to stand out in a world that is unfortunately ever more uniform, embodied by a pace that has never been so mechanical and unstoppable. Chosen as the second single but perhaps the only real track with a bit of commercial potential, alongside the equally splendid, searing agony of "Come Back Haunted", the lead single and perhaps the only one to keep the bridges to the past intact. But today's NIN are also the vehicle through which Reznor carves detailed sculptures of caustic apocalypse, like the trembling crescendo of "Disappointed", the scream of alienation of "All Time Low" and the squared-off cage of "I Would For You", without resisting the occasional temptation to seek a hopeful refuge.

Representing this latter side are the melodic, reflective interlude of "Find My Way" — a possible outtake from "Welcome Oblivion" — the almost prog ecstasy of "Everything" and the voracious, insatiable quest of "Various Methods Of Escape". The positivist effort turns into claustrophobia when Trent shuts himself away, analyzing the darkest, most clinging ghosts in the crackling self-analysis of "Satellite", ideally concluded by the breakneck-speed escape of "Running". The latter carries on, heightening its emotional qualities and brushing against the mirage of illusory liberation in an "In Two" that is perhaps also the least successful track of the bunch, before returning to the realism of the one true awareness — that of existing despite everything — addressed with detachment, confidence and a touch of veiled irony in the knowing electronic minimalism of "While I'm Still Here".

And this, all things considered, is the meaning that “Hesitation Marks” takes on as a whole: Nine Inch Nails are still here, albeit as the offspring – as is only right, after all – of a man who for years now has no longer been the “Mr. Self Destruct” that some would still like to identify him with. It would be pointless and wrong to still expect the energy and rancour that made their masterpieces so glorious (but which also weakened, when forced, the more recent chapters of their discography), elements that are decidedly anachronistic in relation to the current direction of their sound. Without expecting a rewriting of history, deserved praise goes to an act capable of renewing itself and reaching a personal dimension of extremely high quality. No small feat, whatever those who want to mask nostalgia behind the pretence of a purely formal evolution may think. Long live (these) NIN too.

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08/09/2013