Nine Inch Nails – Not The Actual Events – Review by Killian Laher

Trent Reznor promised new Nine Inch Nails music in 2016 and has delivered this EP in the nick of time. While Nine Inch Nails albums tend to ebb and flow across intense moments and gentler tracks, this EP maintains a propulsive ‘bang head against the wall’ feel over its five tracks. Opener Branches/Bones is a short, sharp shock at less than two minutes with driving guitars, while Dear World is an exquisite slice of paranoid electronica. The stomping She’s Gone Away is a little repetitive and drawn out, but the insistent guitars of The Idea of You are as thrillingly aggressive as anything from early 90s NIN. The short EP finishes up with the slow, plodding grind of Burning Bright, mimicing the relentless march of futuristic machines. Although not really as interesting as his solo/soundtrack work, Reznor at least keeps the idea of Nine Inch Nails alive over a 20 minute EP.

Track List:

1. Branches/Bones
2. Dear World
3. She’s Gone Away
4. The Idea of You
5. Burning Bright (Field on Fire)

Burning Bright (Field on Fire):