No one could honestly say that Nine Inch Nails were ever an easy listen - they were, not to put too fine a point on it, the soundtrack to bottomless pits of rage and self-loathing. But things change, years pass, people such as NIN's main protagonist, Trent Reznor, self-medicate and right certain chemical imbalances. Before you can say "journey" you're landed in the middle of one of the most surprising albums of the year. Make no mistake – on Hesitation Marks Reznor and NIN edge into new sonic territory. Copy of A is a chugging, beats-driven analysis of identity issues; Find My Way is as alt.balladic as you can get; Everything is – eek! – driving, whooshing pop music. And so it continues, with Reznor in psychically cleansing lyric mode (the cathartic value of reforming chaos into order) as he throws some extremely agile ambient/
electro shapes. nin.com
Download: Copy of A, Find My Way, Everything