So here it is, the much anticipated Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross collaboration that is the soundtrack to ‘the social network’. Of course, the idea that Trent was going to just up and vanish from our stereos was never really contemplated but still, the man’s voracious work habit has surprised most people with the short period since Nine Inch Nails called it a day seeing the arrival of How to destroy Angels’ debut EP and this, lengthy, ambient follow-up to ‘ghosts’ (you may call it a soundtrack if you will, but ultimately that is what this project sounds like).
However, while Ghosts followed the disturbing movie playing in Trent’s head, ‘the social network’ follows a real film and therefore this soundtrack has a cohesion and flow that is marginally better realised than the more esoteric and sprawling ‘Ghosts’ set. Entirely instrumental, TSN offers up a variety of moods and styles, while still remaining within the ambient/electronica category and where ‘Ghosts’ occasionally floundered, the song-writing here is focused and intent upon telling the story. As a result we move through bouncy electro with big beats and upbeat keyboard washes to dark, guitar-laden soundscapes that induce as much panic as they do adulation. Better still, while the five track sampler jumped from mood to mood, as predicted the full album has a well developed flow that enables the listener to enjoy the record as a sustained and intriguing piece that benefits from repeated listens, preferably without other distractions to tear you away from the alternate plane on which Trent’s darkly absorbing music exists.
Opening with the eerie, sparse ‘hand covers bruise’, the mood of the record is instantly set. A gentle piano is offset by deep, throbbing bass and ambient noise all of which combine to build a darkly sinister atmosphere and the feel is similar to that of the Fragile’s experimental second disc coupled with the electronic approach of Ghosts. It’s a superb opener, full of menace and portent and it suggests great things to come. ‘In motion’ is a very different track. Set to a massive bass beat and filled with retro-sounding keyboards, it is a departure from Trent’s usual work and, strangely, it sits somewhere between material from Pretty Hate Machine and an eighties club hit. Make of that what you will! ‘A familiar taste’ is one of the best things Trent has come up with in a while. Coldly industrial, squalls of guitar are set to a mechanical back beat with the overall feel not dissimilar to the Aphex Twin’s clanking remixes from Further down the spiral. ‘It catches up with you is rather calmer, returning to the gentle piano of ‘La mer’ and the like, and like that wonderful song it carries a gentle, insistent melody that is simple enough in theory but which burrows into your consciousness for days on end. ‘Intriguing possibilities’ is exactly that, partly because the skittering backdrop is actually reminiscent of Depeche mode while the piano is still very organic sounding with a hint of the Downward Spiral’s downbeat melodies but seen through a very eighties lens.
In truth this is the sort of Soundtrack that makes you realise how important the ambient music in a film is. Far more intriguing than a hastily thrown together compilation of current popular artists this is Trent expanding the work he did on Natural Born Killers and The lost highway (both of which featured new Trent compositions as well as an eclectic mix of fine artists) and aligning it with the magnificent, if lengthy, Ghosts project to come up with something truly special. Every track offers up some new side to his ever-changing ideas of what music should be and the production is, of course, top notch. Highlights include the gently ambient ‘pieces from the whole’, the droning ‘eventually we find our way’ and the terrifying ‘gentle hum of anxiety’ but there are no weak points. That said, those who preferred NIN for their stadium bluster and earth-shattering anthems of despair need not apply: this is experimental, disturbing, beautiful, dark, optimistic and adventurous music but it certainly offers little in comparison with the full on NIN experience. That’s fine – this was never supposed to be in that vein and for those who found Ghosts an intriguing listen this is certainly some of Trent’s most experimental music in years.
Better still, the album is released through the Null corporation so a range of packages exist from the basic download right through to a beautifully designed double vinyl so you can decide for yourself whether it’s worth forking out a large wad of cash or a few pennies just to have the music in digital format. Whichever way you go, you’ll not regret spending an hour or two in the company of this amazing music.
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