What NIN album has sucked? I think we can all agree that With Teeth was a little tamer than expected, but that's about as bad as it has gotten. Year Zero was absolutely great and The Slip was certainly good enough.
Perhaps suck wasn't the right word. How about disappointing? Nothing Trent's done in the past decade have been as good as The Downward Spiral or The Fragile. It's kind of funny how Trent's best work since 2000 has been on Niggy Tardust.
I agree that Year Zero is a step up from With Teeth. And, while I enjoy The Slip, it's certainly uneven; plus short--only seven "real" songs, and one is so quiet you can't even hear it unless you're surrounded by total silence.
Personally, I found Year Zero to be very exciting. It took on a vastly different approach lyrically, omitting the usual "failed relationship" stuff that has always been such a focal point in the past. Furthermore, it didn't entirely sound like any other NIN album and certainly didn't sound too similar to any other band's material.
I can see how The Slip might feel uneven. It being short certainly doesn't mean much however, as Broken wasn't any longer yet ended up being a great album regardless. Also, there are plenty of places throughout The Fragile that may or may not be real songs, and can often times become rather quiet. If anything, it was worth the free download and probably worth $10 for a physical copy.
I think that Reznor has stayed pretty true to his style over the years without it feeling as rehashed as many "artists" do after only two or three albums. Besides, his push toward creating an open-source music industry is great and goes to show that he's not just trying to make money off of radio singles. I do have a hard time seeing Ghosts and The Slip as real or full albums however and can't wait for the next truly major release. With no record contracts to tie him down nowadays, it's hard to tell what's to come.
Perhaps suck wasn't the right word.
Nope pretty sure suck was the right word.
Someone must have a soft spot for Top 20 radio...