GHOSTS V: TOGETHER

In 2008, Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor) released an all instrumental album that also hinted at some experimentation, and named it "Ghosts I-IV". This very intriguing record showed the creative side of Reznor that we all knew was there, but was often buried under heavy industrial rock, not that was always such a bad thing. This new direction for NIN came somewhat as a surprise and also merited NIN's inclusion in ProgArchives. After this album, NIN returned to the basic sound that was prevalent previously, but it was a bit more accessible and slanted to a less noisy style. Then, in 2020, Reznor surprised everyone again by producing two albums that carry on the experimental style of the previous Ghosts album. These were albums released and recorded while the world was mostly in isolation because of COVID and were offered for free streaming.

The first of these two albums is "Ghosts V: Together". This album differs from the first Ghosts album in that most of the tracks are much, much longer. This time, you have 8 tracks that span a total of around 70 minutes, so most of these songs are quite long. As a result of this, the individual tracks are much better developed which was the main thing missing from the original Ghosts series. The tracks are also named and work better as individual ideas. This is all made cohesive by keeping the style on this album quite ambient, usually muted melodies and drone foundations that are also manipulated to create some interesting mental pictures. The music is both dark and hopeful, though a bit cautionary. It also features some nice melodies that are kept somewhat muted.

Letting Go While Holding On - Airy drones surrounded by a slow and mysterious, somewhat stifled melody. Drones continue for a while before a descending cadence plays. Background gets a bit more intense as this cadence continues and then calms.

Together - Subdued piano plays quietly with multi-layered background softly acting as a foundation creating a feeling that the music is playing far away being carried by ebbing breezes through the air. The last few minutes turn quite dreamy as the "winds" die down and the muted piano comes back to the foreground.

Out in the Open - Movement is more prevalent as the dreamy background cycles through a chord sequence. Soon, high bell-like notes join in providing a quasi-melody the repeats while variations of the sequence continue.

With Faith - Low register vocal effects give the feeling of a breathing choir while a percussive tonal instrument provides what seems to be an improvised line based around a simple melody. There is some build as it continues along creating a feeling of warmth, soothing, yet a little unnerving at the same time.

Apart - Dark drones ebb and flow while a lovely melody played by treated piano plays slowly evoking emotions of solitude, distance and melancholy. Later, droning and atmospheric synths keep things moving forward, but also keep things dark and dangerous. The last few minutes become a bit more hopeful as twinkling synths bring a bit of brightness to the song, however, the dark drone stays tucked away far into the background.

Your Touch - Glitchy tones and sounds join the piano/synth combination.

Hope We Can Again - Smooth bassline and twinkling melody provide a contrast that evokes more hope, but the slow tempo makes the hope cautionary.

Still Right Here - Very ambient, yet softly moving forward. Sudden change of pace after 4 minutes in as a steady, upbeat tempo suddenly comes in. This acts as a bridge to "Ghosts Volume VI" and is a bit more indicative of the industrial vibe that NIN usually produces. This continues for a while, then suddenly the beat stops as dark and glitchy sounds and noises take over creating the most uneasy feeling of the album. Things calm down to the ambient feeling again evoking a sense of never ending solitude.

There is a nice sense of warmness to most of this album that has been absent on most of NIN's previous releases, and even with the sense of the isolation being eternal, there are several passages that evoke hopefulness. The music is very sensitive and even quite healing. With the album being around 70 minutes, some might argue that it is a bit long, however, it seems like the tracks just fly by if you really get lost in them. All in all, it is a lovely and emotional album that evokes the feelings that many in the world feel during the pandemic of 2020. But the album also offers hope which gives it a brightness in some sections that keeps it from being a total downer. The development of each track shows how Reznor's writing has become more mature and helps us cut through the noise and experience his brilliance in composition.