I’m confident that if you’re the sort of person who listens to Nine Inch Nails even a little bit, you have heard about Ghosts I-IV by now. I pre-ordered one of the physical editions earlier this week, and after a couple of false starts I managed to download the digital version that came with it. I tried to keep my expectations fairly low. Honestly, doesn’t it sound like there’s kind of a lot that could have gone wrong with a 36-track album that’s entirely instrumental and was created in only ten weeks?

In reality, though, it’s hard for me to imagine an album more perfectly tailored to my tastes. I have always loved the instrumental bits on previous NIN albums; they’re often my favorite tracks. And this is exactly the kind of instrumental music I like best: there’s enough going on to keep my attention on the subway, but at the same time it’s unobtrusive enough for me to leave on while I’m working. I’m also infatuated with this album’s sound, which reminds me at times of everything from older NIN to newer Skinny Puppy. Certain tracks sound a lot like PlatEAU to me, too, but at the same time I don’t really get the sense that Ghosts as a whole is derivative of anything in particular, perhaps because there’s a distinct NIN flavor that’s never far away.

I also really appreciate the attention to the little non-music details, like the way each track already has its own album art when you download it, or the digital extras pack that comes with the music. All in all, with the possible exception of the server problems earlier in the week, I’d say this release is a definite success.