Nine Inch Nails-The Day the World Went Away (halo 13)

Released on July 20, 1999 from Nothing Records and Interscope Records, the single for The Day the World Went Away (halo 13) is the first single from Nine Inch Nails from their group’s third full-length studio release The Fragile. The single marks a departure as well as a preview of what is to come from NIN as it would feature the song plus a remix of the song and a B-side that would also appear on the album. The result is one of the group’s finest singles.




The single opens with a slightly shortened version of the song as it is this haunting yet drone-based track led by its soothing sounds of synthesizers and followed by layers of dreamy yet distorted guitars that include a few melodic notes. The song then goes into a quiet tone with its synthesizers as Trent Reznor sings lyrics that are filled with loss that play into the idea of the unknown following death as he’s later joined by a group of singers singing along with for its coda. The remix known as the (quiet) mix opens with Reznor singing the melody with other vocalists from the original song plus Kim Prevost as it is a more somber take of the song driven by atmosphere textures of wind noises, soft guitar strums, and a piano as Reznor sings the song as it is later followed by soft percussions to close the song. A second remix from the single’s 12 inch release is from Porter Ricks that is essentially a dub-based remix driven by a thumping beat and distant vocals that is presented through a low mix.




The single’s B-side in Starfuckers, Inc. is a fast-paced rocker co-written with then-NIN programmer/keyboardist Charlie Clouser opens with bopping and fast-paced beats with Reznor snarling through lyrics in his disdain towards stardom and celebrity with a chorus that goes into rock mode with hard-hitting drums and driving guitars. The chorus feature a group of backing vocalists that say the words “starfuckers incorporated” as it includes a quiet section of Reznor singing lyrics from Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain as it play into the idea of fame and celebrity as the single version of the song features a sample of Shout It Out Loud from KISS at the end of the song.




The single for The Day the World Went Away is an incredible release from Nine Inch Nails that marks a new and daring direction from the outfit. Notably as it showcases ideas of what is to come as well as providing ideas that are familiar but also with something fresh. In the end, the single for The Day the World Went Away is a remarkable record from Nine Inch Nails.

Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 9 - halo 10 - halo 11 - halo 12 - (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)

seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)

Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 12 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) – (null 7)

Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OST - Quake OST - Lost Highway OST

Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/13 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - NIN/Jesus & Mary Chain/Tobacco-9/27/18 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre

© thevoid99 2018

Nine Inch Nails-The Downward Spiral (halo 8)

Released on March 8, 1994 on nothing records and Interscope Records, The Downward Spiral (halo 8) is the second full-length studio release from Nine Inch Nails that would mark the act in their commercial and critical peak as well as bringing industrial music/industrial rock into the mainstream for better and for worse. Songs written, produced, and performed by Trent Reznor with production by Mark “Flood” Ellis on several tracks. The album would mark Reznor’s first collaboration with mixing engineer Alan Moulder who was known then for his work with My Bloody Valentine and Curve. The album would also feature contributions from then/future members of the NIN live band in drummer/programmer Chris Vrenna, keyboardist/programmer Charlie Clouser, and multi-instrumentalist Danny Lohner as well as other contributions from Jane’s Addiction/Porno for Pyros drummer Stephen Perkins, King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, and Reznor’s old Exotic Birds bandmate Andy Kubiszewski.

The album would be the first of several concept albums Reznor would make for his career as he would explore the ideas of self-destruction, anger, and self-loathing on this record as these are themes he would venture into for much of his career. Musically, the album would mark a major evolution of NIN where the pop elements of Pretty Hate Machine and the abrasive industrial metal of Broken would mesh into something far more intricate sonically as well in its atmosphere. The result would be one of the finest albums of the 1990s as well as a definitive recording in the history of popular music.




The album opener Mr. Self Destruct opens with sounds of a beating sampled from George Lucas’ THX 1138 as the beats continue that is followed by these eerie layers of noisy and chugging beats as Reznor sings quietly until he snarls through the chorus with lyrics that are filled with an element of nihilism and darkness. The song, through its intense production by Reznor and Flood, would also include a quiet section that include these swirling guitar textures by Adrian Belew that would later build up. The mid-tempo jazz-inspired Piggy is led by this slow yet steady rhythm as Reznor with its smooth bass line, noisy synthesizer backgrounds, a swooning organ, and Reznor’s soft yet crooning vocals as he sings these lyrics of indifference and disappointment as it would get a little intense though maintaining its steady rhythm that includes a warbling drum solo by Reznor. Heresy is this beat-heavy track filled with driving synthesizers, pounding beats, and Reznor’s distorted vocals as he sings about the fallacy of revolution with a rocking chorus with the words “God is dead and no one cares. If there is a hell, I’ll see your there” as it include some guitars and droning synthesizers.




The album’s first single March of the Pigs is a fast-paced song with pummeling beats mixed with live drums, melodic synthesizer drones, and a driving guitar to Reznor’s snarling vocals as he sings these lyrics that are confrontational as it has this unique structure where it is this song that would rock and then go into a soft-mode by its droning synthesizers and a melodic piano riff as Reznor sings the song in a normal tone. The album’s second single Closer is definitely one of the most famous songs by NIN due to its explicit lyrics of sex and alienation as well as its offbeat presentation with a heartbeat rhythm sampled partially from the Iggy Pop song Nightclubbing. The song’s production by Flood and Reznor with Alan Moulder’s intricate mixing would include these layers of synthesizers that are melodic to eerie during the second verse as it would later include snarling guitars towards its coda as Reznor sings in a distorted manner as it is one of the finest songs of the 20th Century.




Ruiner is a multi-layered track with rhythmic beats, scratchy electronic textures and swirling synthesizers that would become aggressive through Reznor’s snarling vocals in part of its verse and then go into something grand for its chorus that is filled with lyrics of existence and searching for answers to questions that are complex. It’s a song with a unique structure in its tempo and tonal changes as it includes a middle part with Reznor playing a fuzz-based guitar solo that is accompanied by windy keyboards. The Becoming is a mid-tempo track led by a dissonant piano riff with scratchy synthesizer textures, hammering beats, sampled noises from the film Robot Joxx as Reznor sings in a calm manner through these lyrics of loss and de-humanization as it would include a mixture of acoustic and electric guitars from Adrian Belew as it is one of the album’s standout cuts.




I Do Not Want This is a mid-tempo track that is led by looped drum fills by Stephen Perkins through Reznor and Flood’s treatment and Moulder’s distorted mixing as Reznor sings calmly in the song as he plays a few piano chords with noisy synthesizers in the background. Reznor would sing these calm yet unsettling lyrics of loss and anger as it would include these bridges as he sings in a distorted mix that add to the darkness and then return to something calm only to snarl through its chorus with driving guitars. Big Man with a Gun opens with screams by Tommy Lee as it is followed by pummeling beats, driving synthesizers, thrashing guitars from Danny Lohner, and Reznor’s vocals as he sings darkly-comical lyrics of violence and madness as it is one of the album’s controversial songs but in an offbeat way. The instrumental A Warm Place is this haunting yet beautiful cut that is led largely by its swooning synthesizers with its rich production by Flood and Reznor as it has these ambient elements and melodic synthesizers that is really one of the album’s best cuts.




Eraser starts off with scratchy noises and eerie humming as it then followed by these steady yet hammering mid-tempo beats which is later followed by droning synthesizer melodies. The sounds of synthesizers and its production would intensify with sounds of dissonant guitar melodies appearing and then would soften up with Reznor singing these haunting lyrics of despair as it then goes into full-blown rock with its angrier sound with Reznor screaming for death. Reptile is a mid-tempo track that starts off in quiet tone with sounds of industrial machines sampled from the 1989 film Leviathan and bleeping synthesizer melodies before becoming this menacing and broad song filled with powerful beats, droning synthesizers, and Reznor’s haunting vocals as he sings these rich yet dark imagery into the lyrics that add to this growing air of loss and inhumanity as the song later include snarling guitars in another of the great cuts on the album.




The album’s title track starts off quietly with its haunting sounds of flies and droning noise textures as it would followed by a melodic acoustic guitar and it would slowly build up into something menacing and unsettling into something intense in a low mix by Moulder through sounds of screams, driving guitars, Andy Kubiszewski’s warbling drums, and Reznor quietly singing lyrics of a man committing suicide in graphic detail. The album closer in Hurt is definitely one of the most famous songs by NIN as this haunting ballad that is led by sounds of winds, a distorted acoustic guitar, and Reznor’s calm vocals to lyrics of despair and loss that would include this chorus that is accompanied by Chris Vrenna’s steady drumming. It is a powerful song that do play into this sense of loss but also acceptance as it is another of the finest songs of the 20th Century that would later be covered famously by country music legend Johnny Cash.

On November 23, 2004, the album was re-released and reissued for its 10th anniversary in two different formats with the first being a dual-disc version (halo 8-DVD-A) which presents the album in a new remastered (not the Godfather of Soul with the same name) for both CD and DVD with the DVD portion featuring the album its 5.1 Surround Sound mix by Reznor and James Brown (not the Godfather of Soul of the same name) plus music videos for March of the Pigs, Closer, and Hurt as well as a photo gallery of the album’s artwork by Russell Mills and its discography at that time. The deluxe edition of the album (halo 8 DE) features the original album with its 5.1. Surround Sound mix by Reznor and Brown as well as a second disc of material from that period including two non-album tracks from film soundtracks, remixes from singles and the Further Down the Spiral remix album and three unreleased demos.




The two non-LP cuts from film soundtracks that NIN has contributed with the first being a cover of Joy Division’s Dead Souls for the 1994 film The Crow by Alex Proyas which was also a bonus track for the Japanese edition of The Downward Spiral. Slowing the original song’s tempo a bit for a smooth mid-tempo tone, Reznor would play much of the instruments with a steady bass line, driving guitars, throbbing beats from Chris Vrenna, and Reznor’s calm vocals as he sings Ian Curtis’ dark and moody lyrics. From the soundtrack to Natural Born Killers that Reznor produced is the song Burn which is mainly a mid-tempo track with trash-can like beats, layers of synthesizer textures from melodic bleeps and droning sounds, and Reznor’s angry vocals that play into its dark lyrics as it would include a section of the song that is intense and fierce with its guitars and live drums from Chris Vrenna.




From the March of the Pigs single is the instrumental B-side A Violet Fluid with its bubbling synthesizers and noise loops and the extended remix of the song in All the Pigs, All Lined Up with sounds of crowd noises, pig snouts and additional instruments in that remix. From the Closer to God remix EP are two remixes of the song Closer and a B-side cover of Soft Cell’s Memorabilia. The Precursor remix of Closer by the industrial group Coil with Danny Hyde is an atmospheric remix filled with warbling layers of synthesizers, distorted vocals, and smooth bass grooves on the remix while Closer to God is a re-working of Closer with new arrangements on the instrumentation by Reznor, Sean Beavan, and Brian Pollock as well as re-worked lyrics by Reznor who also sings the song. The cover of Soft Cell’s Memorabilia by Reznor, Vrenna, Beaven, Pollock, Robin Finck, and John Van Eaten along with samples of a prank phone sex call is an offbeat cover with thumping, distorted beats as well as scratchy synthesizers, soft guitar wails, and Reznor’s calm vocals as he sings Marc Almond’s salacious lyrics.




From the 1995 Further Down the Spiral remix album are three remixes from that album as the first a remix of Piggy called (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) that is produced by Rick Rubin as it starts off as a soft remix with creaking sounds of noise-loops with its chorus featuring pulsating drum beats by famed session musician Kim Bullard and driving guitars by Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro. The remix for The Downward Spiral known as The Bottom by members of the group Coil with Danny Hyde starts off as this haunting mix with layers of noise loops of the song with warbling whistles as it is then followed by a scream and is largely filled by this sound of sprinkling synthesizer melodies with warbling beats and wailing guitars appearing. The (quiet) remix of Hurt by Reznor is a cleaner mix of the song with a more clear sound on the guitar and a less dramatic climax with some of its distorted sounds from the original album.




Exclusive to the deluxe edition of the album are its three demos which were previously unreleased with two of its demos for Ruiner and Reptile with the latter called Liar were produced by Reznor and Flood while the demo for Heresy is produced by Reznor. The demo for Ruiner doesn’t feature the hammering beats in the final version for its verses until it reaches its bridge while it has portions of the song that doesn’t have Reznor singing parts of the song during its grander moments. Liar is a demo that is nearly realized in its final version though Reznor’s vocals sounds more like a draft of what he wanted to do vocally though it didn’t have the proper mix that would be provided by Alan Moulder. The demo for Heresy is presented in a slower tempo in its beats with Reznor whispering on the vocals for the song’s verse as the chorus include a droning bass line.




The Downward Spiral is an outstanding album from Nine Inch Nails. It is an intense and rich album in terms of its aggression, high-octane production, fusion of hard-edge industrial rock with elements of pop and experimental music, and abrasive yet complex lyrics. It is an album that has this element of danger but also with songs that are fun to sing along to no matter how nihilistic some of the songs are. In the end, The Downward Spiral is a magnificent album from Nine Inch Nails.

Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 9 – halo 10 – halo 11 – halo 12 - halo 13 – (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)

seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)

Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 1 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) - (null 7)

Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OST – Quake OST - Lost Highway OST

Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/13 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - NIN/Jesus & Mary Chain/Tobacco-9/27/18 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre

© thevoid99 2018

Ride-Going Blank Again

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/8/08.

Following the critical success of 1990's full-length debut release Nowhere, Ride was already riding a wave of critical acclaim as the shoegaze genre was in full-bloom with bands like Lush, Chapterhouse, and Slowdive releasing records that blended noise-pop and dream-pop. Then in November 1991, My Bloody Valentine raised the bar for the genre and pop music all together with Loveless which many claims to be the definitive album of the genre. Ride meanwhile, after releasing the Today Forever EP in March 1991 collaborated with My Bloody Valentine's engineer Alan Moulder, who had also been collaborating with another shoegaze act, Curve. In the fall of 1991, Ride and Alan Moulder collaborated on the band’s second release entitled Going Blank Again.

Produced by Alan Moulder with songs each written by their singers/guitarists Mark Gardener and Andy Bell. Going Blank Again is an album that takes Ride’s dream-like shoegaze sound of Nowhere with broader production and noisier palettes that pays tribute to the burgeoning grunge music scene in America. With the thunderous rhythm section of bassist Steve Queralt and drummer Laurence Colbert, the album pushes the band's sound to new limits as they also go for ambitious song structures and noises. Though lacks the richness and dream-like angst of Nowhere, Going Blank Again is still an excellent release from Ride.

The album opener is the eight-minute, eighteen second opus Leave Them All Behind with its wobbly bass line, mid-tempo rhythms, and warbling guitar shimmers as a blazing solo emerges. Mark Gardener leads the way in singing the song with its hazy lyrics as he's joined by Andy Bell on vocals. With its smooth, driving rhythm and blazing guitar noises, it's definitely a great opener for the entire album. The single Twisterella is a bouncy, upbeat song with thumping rhythms and washy guitar arpeggios as Mark Gardener sings with his smooth, cool vocal style as Bell joins him in the chorus. With ringing chimes and percussions, it's a wonderful pop song with ringing guitar melodies and dream-like lyrics led by Gardener. Not Fazed is a more rocking song with driving guitar riffs and a smooth, upbeat rhythm as Andy Bell leads the way with his more evocative, dream-like vocal style. Joined by Gardener on vocals, it's a more rocking track with arpeggio riffs and washy guitars.

Chrome Waves is an acoustic-led track filled with mid-tempo, thumping rhythms and dreamy, evocative synthesizers in the background. With Bell singing in a haunting vocal style and Gardener singing in the background, it's an excellent track led by Alan Moulder's crisp, wall-to-wall production. Mouse Trap is an upbeat song led by a washy guitar riff before going into a thumping, driving rhythm led by Steve Queralt's low-sounding yet bouncy bass line. With its blazing guitar washes and rollicking rhythm, Bell and Gardener sing the song's dream-like lyrics after two-minutes of playing only to play once again. It's a good song but not a great one. Time Of Her Time is another upbeat song with blazing guitars and rollicking beats as Andy Bell sings the song with his hazy lyrics and dream-like vocals. With warbling guitar solos and washy riffs, it's another song that's good but falls short a bit.

Cool Your Boots is a six-minute, mid-tempo, guitar-blazing song that features some great production work from Alan Moulder and Bell's evocative vocals. With its driving guitar and smooth, thundering beats, it's an excellent song filled with a soft, synthesizer background that does get a bit long during its instrumental coda. Making Judy Smile is a mid-tempo yet bouncy rocker led by thumping rhythms, a melodic bass line, and washy guitars led by Bell's smooth vocals. With ringing guitar melodies flourishing, it's a wonderful little pop with its flourishes showing they can create unique songs. Time Machine starts off with a one-minute intro of wobbly bass and drums until it becomes a full-sounding track with a more driving tempo, swift guitar washes, and acoustic guitar plucks. Mark Gardener sings the song through his evocative vocals with Bell joining him in this slow yet melodic song that isn't very memorable.

The album closer OX4 is a seven-minute epic filled with slow yet warbling guitar chimes as it turns into a full-on sound with noisy guitar background, arpeggio chimes, and a thumping rhythm. With Gardener singing lead with Bell in the background, the song goes into a simple, mid-tempo track with guitar washes and shimmering synthesizers layered by Alan Moulder's crisp production. The track is definitely one of the band's career highlights. In the 2001 remastered version of the album comes four additional tracks including the album's title track from the Twisterella single. The mid-tempo yet melodic, arpeggio-chime driven track is one of the band's simpler songs with the harmonic vocals of Gardener and Bell as they lead the way for this chiming, dream-like song.

The next two bonus tracks also come from the Twisterella single. First is Howard Hughes, a rich ballad with washy, dream-like acoustic and electric guitars followed by a wobbly bass line and Mark Gardener's soothing vocals. With layers of shimmering and arpeggio guitars, it's one of the band's richest B-sides. Stampede is a mid-tempo song with arpeggio and blazing guitars with rollicking beats and slow bass lines as Andy Bell sings the song with his dream-like wail as it features a shimmering chorus led by its guitar. The final bonus track from the Leave Them All Behind single is the near, eleven-minute instrumental epic Grasshopper. The track starts off as an instrumental jam with thundering beats, wobbly bass lines, and layers of guitar ranging from blazing to rich arpeggios. With guitars blazing and making noises, it's one of the band's great highlights in this jam-like instrumental piece.

Upon its release in March 1992, the album achieved critical acclaim as well as a degree of commercial success. Yet, the band was unable to break through into the U.S. while the shoegaze musical scene was going into a huge decline. A year later, plans for a third album were in delay due to tension between Mark Gardener and Andy Bell. In 1994, the band released Carnival of Light to mixed reviews as the album signified a change in sound with psychedelia that also had dashes of the current Brit-pop music scene. Two years later, the band released their final album Tarantula to poor reviews a year after the band had called it quits. Today, Ride remains one of the most celebrated bands of the shoegaze scene with Andy Bell being the most-profiled as he currently plays bass for the popular British band Oasis.

Going Blank Again is an excellent album from Ride. Though doesn't reach the heights of their debut album Nowhere. Fans of the band and of the genre will no doubt consider this one of the band’s finest despite a few moments that don't live up to expectations. Yet, it's the kind of record that shows that a band like Ride can and could overcome the sophomore slump. In the end, Going Blank Again is an album worthy to listen to from one of Britain's overlooked acts.

Ride Albums: Nowhere - Smile - (Carnival of Light) - (Tarantula) - (OX4: The Best of Ride)

(C) thevoid99 2011

Ride-Nowhere

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/3/08.

Following the releases of the band's first two EPs Ride and Play, Ride were becoming the critics darling in the burgeoning shoegaze music scene. Along with bands like My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Slowdive, and Chapterhouse, Ride were the most famous next to My Bloody Valentine. In the early fall of 1990, Ride released the Fall EP to more critical acclaim as the four tracks on that record would end up being in the band's first full-length released entitled Nowhere.

Written and performed by Ride and produced by Mark Waterman, Nowhere is an album filled with Ride's swirling guitar work, break-pace rhythms, the dream-like vocals of singer/guitarist Mark Gardener and guitarist/vocalist Andy Bell. With a unique rhythm section in the form of bassist Steve Queralt and drummer Laurence Colbert, the album would be the definitive sound of Ride. The result is one of the genre's most landmark recordings.

The six-minute album opener Seagull arrives with Steve Queralt's bouncy bass lines and Laurence Colbert's cymbal tapping before going through the blazing, fast-paced rhythm and blaring twin guitars of Mark Gardener and Andy Bell. With its washy guitars and fuzz-drone noises, Gardener and Bell sings the song's dream-like lyrics through their evocative harmonies that matches the noisy guitars that swirl through the song. Kaleidoscope is a more upbeat song with chiming guitar washes and upbeat, pounding rhythms with bouncy melodies as Gardener and Bell sing through the song's psychedelic, imagery-laden lyrics. With its droning and shimmering guitar chimes and fuzz, it's a more accessible song than its opener.

In A Different Place is a slow yet thunderous song led by Colbert's bass-pounding drums and guitar arpeggio chimes as Andy Bell sings the song with his smooth, dream-like vocal. With a chorus filled with blazing, noise-driven guitar washes, the song emphasizes on its dream-like verse and noise-laden chorus structure. Polar Bear is a shimmering, heart-pounding song led by its washy guitars and crashing cymbals as Mark Gardener sings with a more lower-octave tenor than Bell's higher-pitched dream-like vocals filled with descriptive, dream-like lyrics. With the bass and drums intensifying as is the chiming guitar swirls, the song becomes a full-on jam as it crosses between dream-like and noise. Dreams Like Burn, from the Fall EP, is a powerful, mid-tempo song with Colbert's hard-hitting drums and fierce guitar work layered with arpeggio and blazing noise. Led by Bell's dream-like vocals and dark lyrics, the song starts out dreamy until a noisy instrumental of guitars come in.

Decay starts off with Colbert's pounding bass drum that's followed by a guitar melody and Queralt's bass line as Bell sings through the song's dark lyrics with his evocative vocals. Then the guitars blazes with Bell and Gardener singing the chorus as it becomes more intense in its performance and presentation. Paralysed is a dreamier, arpeggio-laden song with acoustic flourishes and slow, thunderous rhythms as Mark Gardener sings the song's hazy lyrics led by his vocals. With its washy, noise-driven guitars in the chorus and instrumental coda, it's another example of the band's blend of dream-like textures and noise. The famed single Vapour Trail with its washy guitars, break-beat rhythms, and Mark Gardener's evocative vocals is one of the album's highlights. With its dreamy, descriptive lyrics, it's easily one of the best songs of the genre that includes some bouncy bass lines and a cello solo in the background.

The next three tracks come from the Fall EP with Taste being the first as the bass-pounding song with upbeat rhythms and swirling guitars lead the way. With Bell's more high-pitched, dream-like vocals, the song is filled with rollicking beats by Colbert and twin guitar attacks from Bell and Gardener. Here And Now is a mid-tempo track with rumbling beats and arpeggio-laden guitars with a harmonica playing in the background. With Gardener's vocals driving the song with its smooth, dream-like presentation, it's a great song with its layers of melodies and jam-like musicianship. The album's closer is its brooding title track arrives with its slow yet noise-laden guitars as it plays in a dark tone with Gardener's eerie vocals. With its soft yet hollow beats and low bass lines along with shimmering, ringing guitars. It's a haunting closer for the entire album.

In the 2001 remastered version comes four bonus tracks from the Today Forever EP that followed Nowhere. Produced by Alan Moulder, famous for his work on My Bloody Valentine's Loveless album, the EP starts off with Unfamiliar. The song starts off with bouncy rhythms and hard-hitting snares with shimmering and arpeggio guitars layered with Alan Moulder's crisp production. With Andy Bell's dream-like vocals, the song with its hazy lyric is the epitome of dreamy-noisy pop music thanks in part to Moulder's production. Sennen is a slower, melodic-laden track with washy guitars and smoother beats as it plays like an acoustic track of sorts. With its dream-like guitar washes and the evocative harmonies of Bell and Gardener, it's an excellent track from the band.

Beneath is an upbeat, rumbling track with bouncy melodies and rhythms with Bell and Gardener singing the song with chiming guitar melodies as Colbert's drums pound and rollick through. With its dreamy lyrics, the song is filled with the swirling guitars and washy performance. The closing track Today is a six-and-a-half minute ballad with washy guitars and Gardener's dream-like vocals leading the way with its hazy, elegant lyrics. With a droning guitar solo in the background, the rest of the instrument comes in as it intensifies with its hypnotic, dream-like presentation.

Released in October of 1990, the album was a critical favorite as it was considered to be the great album of the shoegaze album until a year later when My Bloody Valentine released Loveless. Today, Nowhere is considered to be one of shoegaze's finest moments as it's often considered to be the best shoegaze album ever made that wasn't by My Bloody Valentine. Fans of the shoegaze genre must pick up Nowhere for its swirling guitar work, dream-like presentation, and rollicking musicianship. This is definitely the best album Ride has ever put as they remain one of Britain's most overlooked acts.

Ride Albums: Going Blank Again - Smile - (Carnival of Light) - (Tarantula) - (OX4: The Best of Ride)

(C) thevoid99 2011

Curve-Doppelganger

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/20/08.

After releasing three acclaimed EPs that were hits with critics and people in the shoegaze music scene, Curve, consisting of vocalist Toni Halliday and multi-instrumentalist Dean Garcia, were already getting attention for their blend of the burgeoning shoegaze music scene with Goth and electronic music. With help from Eurhythmics co-founder Dave Stewart and his label, Curve managed to secure a deal as they worked on their debut album. Helping Halliday and Garcia on the record is Flood, the famed producer who had worked with acts like U2, Depeche Mode, and Nine Inch Nails. Also helping out is Alan Moulder, the engineer who had just worked on the acclaimed My Bloody Valentine album Loveless.

Produced by Flood with contributions by Steve Osborne and Alan Moulder, Doppelganger is an album that takes Curve's palette of shoegaze, electronic music, and Goth along with ethereal, sensual vocal styles of Toni Halliday. Often abrasive at times and soothing in other places, the album reflects of Curve's unique musical style that's often overlooked by the public. The result is one of the 90s overlooked albums from a band that never got the credit they deserved in the alternative music scene.

The album opener Already Yours arrives with pulsating, electro beats courtesy of Steve Monti as it's followed by the driving, distorted guitar washes of Dean Garcia. Toni Halliday starts to sing in her cool, sensual vocals with Garcia's guitars backing her. Filled with eerie, descriptive lyrics of obsessed love, it's definitely a great opener to the album. Horror Head is a smoother yet guitar-driven song with sputtering, clapping beats and Halliday's swirling vocals through Flood's atmospheric production. With Halliday singing a high-pitch vocal style, the song is filled with abstract, dark lyrics of claustrophobia with screeching guitars and electronic noises. Wish You Dead is an upbeat, pulsating track led by its drum machines and washy, droning guitars by Garcia. Halliday's engaging, cool vocals are more intense as she sings dark yet imagery-laden lyrics as the song continues to warble with its guitars, beats, and Flood's heavy, layered production.

The album's title track is a smoother yet atmospheric track led by its throbbing electronic background, distorted guitars, and Halliday's cool, eerie vocals. With the beats starting to hit more snare-like rhythms, the song becomes more driving as Halliday sings more chillingly through the production and the song's eerily, descriptive lyrics. Lillies Dying is a smooth, upbeat track with pulsating beats and Garcia's driving, shoegaze-laden guitars with Halliday's engaging, wailing vocals filled with dark lyrics of death and Garcia's shimmering guitars. Ice That Melts The Tips is a mid-tempo number with rollicking, rolling electro-beats and a driving guitar wash that features swirling chimes. With Halliday's cool sensual vocals leading the way, she also goes into soothing yelps for her vocal acrobatics that is matched by the song's cold, descriptive lyrics of love gone wrong.

Split Into Fractions is a thumping, rhythmic track led by its blazing guitars and sputtering synthesizer background. With Halliday's hypnotic, eerie vocals, the song swirls as Halliday sings different vocal keys through the song's unique presentation of electronic music and shoegaze. Think & Act is a more kinetic, bass-driven track with pounding snare beats and a driving guitar track as Halliday sings in a high-pitch, dream-like vocal with dream-like arpeggio guitar chimes in the background. With its swirling, shimmering production and Halliday's vocals filled with mind-numbing, dark lyrics as Garcia's distorted, feedback-laden guitar continue to lead the way. The single Fait Accompli is a mid-tempo track with its rhythmic beats, layering of driving and wailing guitars, and Halliday's dark, engaging vocals. With lyrics filled with dark tales of love and heartbreak, Halliday's vocals are the highlight through Flood's atmospheric production.

Sandpit is a dark, ominous track led by Halliday's chilling yet sensual vocals as she is accompanied by Flood's atmospheric production and soft, swirling guitar feedback and arpeggio chimes by Dean Garcia. With its haunting lyrics, Halliday's vocals are the highlight as it's one of the best songs on the album. The album closer and bonus track in the U.S. version of the album is Clipped. The fast-paced, pulsating track with siren-like guitar swirls and rhythmic electro-beats is led by Garcia's guitar and Halliday's cool, engaging vocals that are filled ominous, eerie lyrics. Produced by Steve Osborne and originally from the Cherry EP, it's a fitting closer to the entire album.

When it was released in 1992, the album was a hit in the U.K. charts as well as a minor hit in the American alternative music scene. Though the shoegaze scene was in decline, Curve managed to standout with their musical pallette. A sound that some people claimed that was taken by the American grunge-pop band Garbage in the mid-90s with great success. Though Halliday and Garcia claim that what they did was simply in the style of pop music while Curve says they're not a pop band. Yet, Doppelganger was still the band's most commercially successful album while often considered to be one of the definitive albums of the shoegaze scene.

Doppelganger is a great debut album from Curve and one of the most underrated records of the 1990s alternative music scenes. Fans of acts like Garbage, Nine Inch Nails, and other rock-related acts with electronic flourishes and pop hooks will enjoy this. Anyone interested in Curve should pick this album up as the best place to start. In the end, for anyone that's into cool vocals, lot of noisy guitars, swirling electronic backgrounds, and top-notch production. Curve's Doppelganger is the record to get.

Curve Albums: Pubic Fruit - (Radio Sessions) - Cuckoo - (Come Clean) - (Open Day at the Hate Fest) - (Gift) - (The New Adventures of Curve) - (The Way of Curve)

(C) thevoid99 2011