Ropeadope

At times, it seems like Radiohead's free album stunt last October got Trent Reznor more excited to write new music than he's ever been in his whole life.

Consider the fact that, since the "Radiohead model" was introduced, the man produced hip-hop artist Saul Williams' overlooked LP The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!, released four LPs of instrumental music with Ghosts I-IV and now this new release, The Slip. All of these projects have been released online for free and it seems that Reznor isn't going to change this practice anytime soon. Well, hats off to you, Reznor. Not only are you embracing your fans' wallets, but you crafted a solid piece of work as well.

The album kicks off with "1,000,000" which features a dominant beat that is complemented by the industrial rock riffs that are a staple of the Nine Inch Nails sound. While the first half of The Slip concentrates on being loud, fast and easy to dance to, the second half seems much more viscous. "Corona Radiata" is a seven-minute long electronic piece that seems like a leftover from Ghosts I-IV. "The Four of Us Are Dying" is another instrumental piece that immediately follows "Corona." These are definitely impressive tracks, especially if music production is your thing or you're on some sort of substance. But for the casual listener, these instrumental escapades may just seem like a really long interlude.

It's no question that Reznor enjoys manipulating his music to form unorthodox sounds but he hasn't lost his knack for creating dark, infectious melodies. On The Slip there is a definite divide between the accessible and "out there" stuff, but die-hard fans, as well as casual fans, will approve of this new release.