How To Destroy Angels: Welcome Oblivion

- Throughout my formative years I struggled to find a strong male role model amongst the disheartening assortment of rage-fuelled action-men and glistening himbos that had been sent my way. At one point, as the angst and confusion accumulated, I desperately stuck my hooks into, what seemed at the time, one of the better representations of a well-rounded gentleman: Trent Reznor, most notable for fronting industrial-goth-rock juggernaut and saviour to the angry masses, Nine Inch Nails. As the years rolled on I continued to soak up as much of Trent's sage wisdom and as many of his life lessons as I could take into my tiny little heart. Though the results were mixed and sometimes staggeringly bizarre, what had been created was not entirely a monster. It moved, it breathed, it's heart pounded too and with the force of ten regular, limp hearts. For that I've always refused to throw Trent Reznor under the bus. It wasn't all that long ago that I found myself in a similar position to the one I find myself strong-armed into right now. Reznor's new band, How To Destroy Angels, featuring his wife (!) and two former Nine Inch Nails collaborators, threatening to and subsequently releasing another collection of spacey, drawn-out, post-industrial, electronic music that features the hushed crooning and even, at times, the harmonising of husband and wife, love once again overcoming all obstacles. Or not quite: in the face of such a romantic escapade the best I can muster up is a dull and very cautious optimism, marred by a certain indifference. Despite this, I still feel the group's first two EPs were actually pretty decent; nothing world changing mind you, but enjoyable enough. With the release of debut long player, Welcome Oblivion I find my feelings on the group have failed to experience any kind of excitement. If you thought Thom Yorke's continued foray into electronics via Atoms For Peace was a little stagnant and self-indulgent (which I didn't), then you'll probably not make it through the hour or so of music here. Welcome Oblivion is in no way a bad record, it just doesn't quite hit the mark. There's too many sprawling electronic movements that make it to meandering pleasantness without becoming truly engaging. That's a shame because as you listen you can sense it is, at least trying to be, something more than the sum of its parts. Though never quite finding a truly unique and solid identity, there are still moments here that shine, they're just too sparsely injected throughout the record. With recent news that Nine Inch Nails are once again emerging from the shadows, there's a good chance How To Destroy Angels will just go down as a semi-interesting footnote in the history of Trent Reznor and maybe that's just fine, he's always got his Oscar and his Grammy to pump him up when he gets blue. - Jay Edwards.