How to Destroy Angels

'[Trent] Reznor and his lovely wife, former West Indian Girl member Mariqueen Maandig have begun collaborating on a brand new project together, entitled How To Destroy Angels . . . HTDA is a succinct, healthy blend of "Rabbiteen"-era Jack Off Jill, With Teeth percussion ("Fur Lined"), nuances from everything Reznor post-'99, and aside from some minor harmony contributions on "BBB" and "Parasite," you hear nothing from Maandig's scheming husband, leaving one to believe he was more focused on the production end this time around. Overall, HTDA is as appropriate an EP as you could ever get from this new project. There's a great introduction to Maandig's presence on the extremely haunting opener, "The Space In Between," accompanied by Fragile-era instrumentals in the backdrop. Aspects of Year Zero reign as a signature glaze throughout the marching beat of "BBB" and the static-heavy "Parasite." And if you couldn't tell already, each song on the EP is its very own entity, with only blatant production techniques holding it all on a common, but nonetheless reputable, tangent. There was talk about whether or not this could be a precursor to "happy" NIN songs, but we can leave that kind of social networking hearsay in the dust now, it seems.' - David Buchanan / Consequence of Sound