Do you like the ’90s? We like the ’90s.
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[6.67]
Brad Shoup: Some singers are fortunate, in that they opt for a vocal mode that won’t kill them to produce (or approximate) over time. Trent’s pushing 50, but he could be marshaling tongue-hung bleats for the rest of his life. It looks increasingly like that’d be cool with him! He’s the auteur behind the geekiest act in American music — that’s the pitch, Grantland, you’re welcome — a man who delights in making misanthropy almost danceable. His sequencing is on point, as ever: if “Came Back Haunted” could loosen its sphincter, it could be a banging electroclash tune. But his songwriting is as labored as ever, taking five minutes to dispense with two-thirty’s worth of words and hooks. Luckily for us all, they’re some of his best. I tend to overrate the slivers of funk whenever Reznor and co. assemble them, so I’ll have to live with this:
[8]
Will Adams: The cluttered synth lines, pouring out in different keys, induce the familiar claustrophobia that defines so much of Trent Reznor’s work. Things open up at the chorus, though the woozy drone — reminiscent of Year Zero‘s dystopia — keeps my hairs on end. At this point, Trent could compose this in his sleep, but it’s no less effective.
[7]
Alfred Soto: I’ve had problems with this man for years, most of which stemmed from the lack of consonance between his aural textures and the lyrics’ eighth grade sex-death porn. “Came Back Haunted” rights the balance, taking tricks learned from James Murphy and Holy Ghost! and massaging them until they sound bolder and thicker. Reznor comes up with a decent catchphrase too.
[7]
Daisy Le Merrer: I’m sure Trent Reznor bought some kind of rare analog synth for this, and spent hours adjusting every knob to get the precise sound he needed on each beat. Craftsmanship at this level is impressive. Too bad he’s given up on writing new songs fifteen years ago. The Nine Inch Nails moniker is now just a series of melodic tics Reznor can pull out to play with his new gear.
[5]
Edward Okulicz: Less a twisted slab of industrial angst as you might have expected/feared and more a bit of a fog — Reznor can still create an atmosphere out of nothing, but he sounds restrained and weakened. The sheer emotional grit that’s required (and audibly being attempted) on lines like “they put something inside of me!” isn’t there. Maybe the stale lyric sheet doesn’t help with the commitment. It’s not all a loss; it would be a shit-hot instrumental for self-hatred if you could’t find your copy of The Fragile.
[5]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Trent Reznor never seemed to have left or taken a break — a new band with his wife and an Academy Award, no biggie — but his first new Nine Inch Nails material in five years carries the sense of a long-awaited return. In a year where announcing that all systems are operational appears to be enough, this rejects a need to celebrate, marking a return to wriggling paranoia. The title says it all: “Came Back Haunted.” The music backs it up: full-bodied, bubbling with anxiety, the chorus’s hookiness bolstered by the worming synthlines and trails of guitar distortion wiping through the verses. Reznor finds humour in the onslaught, though: “They tried to drown me/but I couldn’t fathom myself” he puns, the quip played deadly serious as to match the surrounding bustle. You can make it a joke if you want, but only he knows and he’s the only one he trusts.
[8]