Lights in the Sky sampler

Sorry for the delay in posting; it has been a hectic day.

Yesterday, I noticed a myspace bulletin from the Nine Inch Nails page, stating that a new EP called Lights in the Sky was released online and free (like the last thing from nin.com, The Slip). The EP is a sampler of bands that are touring or playing with Nine Inch Nails during the North American tour.

I like the idea of the sampler. It gives us an idea of what to expect from the opening acts at the shows on the upcoming tour, as well as exposes some new bands to an audience that might not otherwise hear about new and interesting talents. However, I have to give this a 60% meh rating. While there are two outstanding tracks on this, the other three are nothing that really affects me.

Before I get to the music, some notes about what's in the download. I like the cover image, but the obvious implication of the "black triangle" UFO as depicted by three lights hovering in mid-air gives me the warning lights that also tripped in Year Zero; I fear that Trent Reznor may be heading down the path of X-Files conspiracy theory thinking and that worries me. But it's a pretty cool picture, and makes a nice album cover (as well as a .jpg can be cover, mind you). Also included in the download is a file of wallpapers, avatars, assorted web graphics, and a printable .pdf tour poster.

The first track on Lights in the Sky is A Place to Bury Strangers' "To Fix the Gash in Your Head." While I love A Place to Bury Strangers (as seen in this review I did several months ago), they picked my least favorite track from their catalogue to appear on this release. However, compared to the other appearances on Lights in the Sky, this sounds really good. I also suspend my criticism of this track since I truly believe A Place to Bury Strangers deserves the great amount of recognition that appearing on this EP will hopefully garner them. They're already gaining ground everywhere, so this will merely accelerate a process that would have the same result otherwise.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? chases with "We Are Rockstars," from their 2008 release You Have No Idea What You're Getting Into. I'm not quite sure what to think of this one. It's quite a danceable little beast, but I can't help but feel like it's overdone club lightshow dross. Not great, not bad, somewhere in the range of things I'll only listen to when in the rare mood for it (one Tuesday afternoon every other year). I'm a bit more adamant about how lackluster Crystal Castles' "Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs. HEALTH)" is. Electro dance sort of stuff with enough video game sound effects to make you think you're stuck in an 8-bit equivalent of a gay disco. While I give them credit for the innovation factor of those sound effects, I find the result is cheesy and annoying (edit: I've been informed by Frank that Crystal Castles isn't as innovative as they seem to those of us not sitting on this particular style of music; see comments for more information).

Following the Metroid dance mix thing, Deerhunter jumps in with "Like New," featured on the Fluorescent Grey EP from last year. It's the shortest track on Lights in the Sky, and the one that stands out the most. Deerhunter tends to move more along the lines of an indie rock/shoegaze variety, while most of the music on Lights in the Sky is electronic in nature. This is more spacey, echoing out with a certain strained beauty that is absent from the other songs.

The final song on Lights in the Sky is Nine Inch Nails' own "Echoplex." In case you missed my review of The Slip, I will reiterate that I find this track unimpressive and dragging out unnecessarily. I still rate it as a solid "meh."

While two out of five songs would hardly be worth buying had this been a CD release, being a free download makes it at least worth the 39.2 mb it takes up on your hard drive (that's the whole package of mp3s and pictures). It's an experience that may induce a listener to try something new and see what amazing (or lackluster) things are happening out in the music world beyond that which already is established. In that respect, I have a great respect for Mr. Reznor. Associating himself with these up and coming bands shows us that he has taste and wants to experience new music as much as we do.

Even if you hate everything on Lights in the Sky, you spent nothing on trying, and if you do like something you heard, you did so without risk. I didn't like most of this, and already knew one band fairly well (bought A Place to Bury Strangers' eponymous album from last year twice, once on CD and once on vinyl), but at least I picked up some new names and gave them a spin. It's all about giving new stuff a shot; go for it.



Nine Inch Nails' website
Deerhunter's myspace
A Place to Bury Strangers' website and myspace
You can find the others on your own.

A Place To Bury Strangers

As you all know by now, I’ve been trying to keep to new releases in these reviews; however, the post office is either slacking or whoever is shipping the CDs on the other end doesn’t understand the relatively new concept of the mailbox. Therefore, I’m going to reach back to one of last year’s releases and discuss the eponymous A Place To Bury Strangers album.

Reviews all over call A Place To Bury Strangers "The Loudest Band In New York." I can hardly disagree with that sentiment, since the sheer volume, distortion, and feedback caused great digestive unrest when I saw them perform at Crash Mansion in 2006. It was worth every minute that I can only dimly remember (damn that open bar).

Through the feedback and layered effects of his guitar, the voice of frontman Oliver Ackermann seems to have journeyed through a long tunnel, or echoed out of a century's worth of rusty coffee cans. Blending the chaos is Jono MOFO's bass. Meanwhile, the crash of JSpace's drums pound the listener into the ground. The room shakes; the world feels like it is crashing down on your head. It’s the sort of distortion-driven noise rock that has been sorely lacking in modern rock music, and, for the most part, it seems to be welcomed with arms (shakily) open.

Of the ten tracks on this disc, I cannot say that a single one is bad. I’m not particularly crazy about “To Fix The Gash In Your Head,” but I seem to be the minority in regard to that. I’d list my personal favorites aside from that track, but it’s simpler to say “everything else.” If there is any flaw, it lies in my desire to hear more. Despite the fact that the album runs about 40 minutes, it always feels too short. Other than that, it’s an absolute delight of brain-crushing thrash from start to finish.

This album is also available on a limited vinyl pressing through Important Records, but demand has been high enough that it has seen at least one reprint run. If you are like me and obsessively need to support this mind-shattering blast of pure sonic assault, then pick that up while you can.

If you are interested in Ackermann's distinct guitar sound, you should know that he designs and builds effects pedals, which you can purchase at deathbyaudio.net. Personally, I start drooling every time I look at Death By Audio. If I ever build up the cash for a guitar (or any other instrument^*), then that is my next stop.

A Place To Bury Strangers Official Website
Myspace page
Buy the vinyl at Important Records
Buy the CD at Brainwashed

^*I’m dying to know what a theremin would sound like through Death By Audio’s signature pedal, the Total Sonic Annihilation.