HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS

AN OMEN EP

by JASPER RYDEN

I’ve been thinking for some time now it’s time to make [Nine Inch Nails] disappear for a while,” said Trent Reznor when he announced the highly influential industrial band’s indefinite hiatus in February of 2009. How to destroy angels_, Reznor’s new group, was soon formed, releasing their eponymous EP in 2010. Considering his statement, it would seem that Reznor might take a crack at a new style, but the results have been oddly predictable. Yet the man is great at what he does, which is to generally make you feel both entranced and uncomfortable.

How to destroy angels_ is made up of graphic designer Rob Sheridan, who also worked with Nine Inch Nails; Reznor’s wife Mariqueen Maandig, former singer of Los Angeles band West Indian Girl; and Atticus Ross, who has worked with Reznor on scores for films like The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The results the first time around were satisfying. Though Reznor could have easily performed almost all of her parts, Maandig’s vocals on How to Destroy Angels proved to be an interesting addition to Reznor’s sound, and the band created a very specific mood, though not one unfamiliar to fans of NIN. Dark, sexualized, moody, brooding, atmospheric, and relentless are all words that come to mind.

The new recording, entitled An omen EP, which comes with a stylistic change to the band’s name, is similar, though it seems to indicate a loss of direction. The first few tracks are great. “Keep it together” is minimal, supported only by a massive, churning bass riff, some Reznor-brand clicky noises, and Maandig’s vocals. “Ice age,” the strongest cut on the record (and one of the prettier things I’ve heard in recent memory), strips things down even further. Almost every sound seems to have been made by real–as opposed to synthesized or sampled–instruments, which is interesting for a Trent Reznor song. But again, Maandig’s vocals carry along the track; without her contributions, it would be just short of uninteresting.

In fact, she carries the whole EP. When the mix starts to bury her, things get pretty uninteresting… and that happens about halfway through. “On the wing” manages to stay captivating in that it somehow feels calm despite its aggressive beat, and “The sleep of reason produces monsters,” named for a 1797 Francisco de Goya engraving, is an atmospheric track that begins borderline angelically, but by the end becomes unnerving and sinister. And if you turn the volume up loud enough, the final seconds will likely give you a few chills.

“The loop closes” edges on boring. When they finally arrive, the vocals come off as ridiculous. The closing track, “Speaking in tongues,” is sufficiently sinister, but lacks direction. Neither track features Maandig’s vocals as prominently as the first few songs on the EP. Either Reznor and Ross are too used to making ambient film soundtracks, or they just didn’t try that hard this time around.

Though the music is good, and for the most part interesting, An Omen EP feels halfhearted. Without Maandig’s contributions the album would be entirely cold, lacking any trace of humanity, which is odd considering that what Reznor has always been best at using synthesized sounds to express the most desperate human emotions, making madness and depravity vivid, energetic, and at times unbearable. Just listen to 1994’s The Downward Spiral. We’ll see if the rest of the band can put a bit more soul into it when their full-length debut drops in 2013.<

JASPER RYDEN

Likes to catch cats and paint their teeth glow-in-the-dark. He then allows them to roam free in municipal areas.