Composer: Trent Reznor. Nine Inch Nails: Alessandro Cortini, Robin Fink, Josh Freese, Trent Reznor. Programmer: Atticus Ross. Audio Mixer: Alan Moulder. Audio Remasterer: Brian Gardner . Mere months after Trent Reznor unveiled the 2008 instrumental collection GHOSTS I-IV online without warning, the Nine Inch Nails frontman issued another independent album out of the blue--a completely free studio album entitled THE SLIP. While not a radical departure from the fuzzed-out dystopia of YEAR ZERO, this 10-track outing does hark back to Reznor's earlier work (most notably THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL), as on the pounding "Discipline," which is tempered by a chiming keyboard melody, and the spare, piano-driven piece "Light in the Sky," a song that showcases the artist's brooding persona. Pithy and immediate, THE SLIP functions as a refreshing counterpoint to NIN's cumbersome 1999 double-disc outing, THE FRAGILE, and easily ranks as one of Trent Reznor's most satisfying endeavors.

• Genre: Pop
• Released: 07/22/2008
• Format: CD