Welcome oblivion sounds like a meticulously planned and programmed error, unlike anything I've heard before.
And I'd expect nothing less from Trent Reznor.
As far as lyrically...well, I really didn't know what to expect from his wife and the lyricist for the band, Mariqueen Maandig, not really. There was that EP they put out back in the summer of 2010, but, according to them, they've evolved and grown since then and that was just them finding their voices as they learned to work together, just "an artifact from that moment in time".
Musically, they have done everything they said they would: grown as a band, found their unique voice, discovered how best to work together...musically.
Lyrically?
Uh...
Man, is the music on here great...
The wake-up - Excellent introduction. Really conveys the feel of the album as a whole and gets the listener excited for what they're about to experience. The perfect sonic mission statement for HTDA. This is How to destroy angels_.
Keep it together - In the context of the whole album this is a very solid place to start; slow, dark and melodic, not too much of the dissonant electronic fracas found elsewhere to scare off people new to the band. Well placed and well played.
And the sky began to scream - The sounds and sound manipulation on here are just excellent. That frayed, thudding bass and razor sharp electronic cat scratch set against those frail, shuddering strings and flutes is perfect. Even if the lyrics aren't. I enjoy the build up at the end, but there's no real pay off.
Welcome oblivion - It's so great to hear Mariqueen screaming on this. I love to hear her doing something different from what we've heard thus far. The beat reminds me of Depeche Mode's Home and lyrics are steeped in apocalyptic consequences. I have problems with neither fact.
Ice age - Sonically, this is the most diverse track on the album; the clear, almost bluegrass plinks and plunks cut through the electronic haze that floods in towards the end. Again...the lyrics...not so much. Also, because this was released several months ago on their An Omen EP, I've become a bit overexposed to it. I need to come back around to enjoying it, but that's my issue, not that of the song.
On the wing - Also released in November 2012, I still think this is one of the stronger tracks on here, like "Ice Age" it sounds different from most of its surroundings. Reznor and Maandig's voices go together very nicely.
Too late, all gone - The vocal treatment on this is something I've never heard before. There are so many textures...it seems I hear something different every time I listen to it. Even if "the more we change, everything stays the same" isn't the most original or inspired sentiment/lyric, this is one of those rare moments when I'm actually hearing something new.
How long? - When this first came out a month or so before the album, it sounded overly 80's to me. In a bad way. Plus, those awful lyrics... As I've stuck with it though, it's grown on me and I've found some of the deeper, more subtle layers. It won't ever be my favorite, but I no longer skip it when it comes on either.
Strings and attractors - Despite a rough beginning (that high, fuzzy, metallic ping-PING get real annoying, real quick) and some cookie cutter lyrics (again), I like the harmony and sound of the chorus, specifically the softness of Reznor's voice. Once things open up at the end, I really start to like this a lot, even if it does sound like the melody from "And All That Could Have Been".
We fade away - It's so obvious from the start for anyone who knows SONOIO that Cortini is on this. The vocals (though not the lyrics..."let's record a song for which all the lyrics sound, phonetically, like "we fade away!") and build and piano are great. There's some guitar that sounds just like that used on the Dragon Tattoo score and it's more than welcome here. Cortini's muffled screaming is a wonderful surprise. But, although things get a little more lively, the payoff isn't enough; rather than something exploding out of the water, we get some pretty big ripples, but nothing else. This happens twice in the course of this track.
Recursive self-improvement- This sounds like a b-side from the score for The Social Network. Plus, the "you intentionally can't hear the vocals" approach to recording/mixing vocals always bugs me. Are you trying to cover up silly or unimportant lyrics? Is this just meant to be sonic texturing? I've tried getting into this, finding things tucked and layered in here, and there are a few slightly interesting moments, but not enough. This takes up six and a half minutes that could have been better utilized.
The loop closes - The programming, pounding beat and huge build up almost justify yet another set of uninspired lyrics...almost. But, said lyrics and, once again, the build up with no payoff massively detract from this.
Hallowed ground - Whereas "Recursive self-improvement" sounds like a Social Network b-side, this sounds like a reenvisioning of the last track from that score, "Soft Trees Break The Fall". Like...a lot. I mean, obviously, it's different; more organic and all that, but still...wow. Also, having a long instrumental, then a song with two lines of lyrics repeated over and over again and then another long instrumental as the last three tracks on your album? Youch. Did you really have nothing else? I would have been perfectly happy with a reinterpretation of "A Drowning" (the beautiful if straightforward closer from their 2010 EP), a perfect final track.
I have never experienced an album in which the visual and aural components are more perfectly married. You can hear the jumpy, VHS glitch art in the music, and see the distressed, pixelated sound in all the artwork.
It is flat out singular.
I also really enjoy hearing some of the sounds that went into both the Social Network and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo scores set to lyrics and in a more focused and melodic framework (except when they too closely resemble the source material). This album is a true amalgam and evolution of those scores and their debut EP.
There's also the themes: those of blind or lost faith, ancient religions, fulfilled prophecies, apocalyptic mistakes and old, forgotten gods reemerging and returning just in time for the end of days, perhaps summoned by believing (or not believing) in the wrong (or right) things.
In a nutshell, the fatal consequences of belief.
When set against the often overwhelmingly trite and uninspired lyrics, the lack of resolution on some of the songs and the fact that there are two long and lackluster instrumentals that account for almost a quarter of the album...yeah, this is still a really great album.
Yes, it doesn't end well, but the beginning and middle are just stunning, again, like nothing I've ever heard.
So, how about this:
Trent and Atticus? You guys are good to go, keep doing what you're doing.
Rob? Keep up the good work, your visuals are just knocking it out of the park on every level.
Mariqueen? You sound great, but let's try and put a little more work into your lyric writing skills, okay?
Great.
I'll see you guys in 2024, when your next album comes out.
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