There is No Love & There is No Pain... Every Day is Exactly the Same

With the current success of the band's fourth, full-length album With Teeth, Nine Inch Nails definitely rode a high wave after years of hiatus and commercially disappointing releases. Trent Reznor and company not only toured furiously from Spring of 2005 to Spring 2006 with additional personal changes with the departure of Jerome Dillon who was briefly replaced by Alex Carapetis only to turn to veteran drummer Josh Freese on the helm. Right now, With Teeth has turned platinum which has helped the band's commercial fortunes with help from three # 1 songs in the Modern Rock charts. First was the pulsating, industrial, anti-Bush charge of The Hand That Feeds and the second is the electro-funk of Only. Their current # 1 Modern Rock hit shows the band returning to the world of hypnotic art rock with their current EP for Every Day Is Exactly The Same.

The Every Day Is Exactly The Same EP is a six-track EP filled with remixes of the title track along with its previous singles. Featuring remixes from the likes of the production team known as DFA, Photek, El-P, Richard X, and Interpol's Carlos D and Sam Fogarino. Whereas in previous singles in the past for The Perfect Drug, Closer, and EPs like Further Down the Spiral and Things Falling Apart. Every Day Is Exactly The Same shows the art of remixes in all of its varied form with the title track leading the way. In the end, Every Is Exactly The Same EP is by far the band's best remix effort since The Perfect Drug single.

The first track is the EP's title cut with its art-rock presentation of soft, opening piano melodies before it turns into a shimmering, hypnotic art-rock track with its brooding synthesizers from Atticus Ross and power-hitting drums from Dave Grohl. Reznor's lyrics of blandness and repetition is powerful as it leads to a catchy chorus with its symphonic textures of keyboards and guitars led by Reznor's production and Alan Moulder's mix. The song is truly one of Reznor's most inspiring and one of the band's best singles.

The next cut is a nine-minute remix of The Hand That Feeds which is remixed by the production team of DFA. Originally appeared in the single for Only, the remix fits itself right at home with its funk-drenched rhythms and club-driven synthesizers. The DFA mix is truly one of the record's biggest highlights as it takes the song's aggro-rocking sound and gives it a slap of funk and club grooves that features pulsating scratches of synthesizer layers. The track's production is wonderfully spot-on where as a dance song, it gives the anti-Bush track something to get everyone into the groove. Next is another remix of The Hand That Feeds from Photek called (The Straight Mix) that originally appears in the single for The Hand That Feeds. Probably the weakest track on this record, the remix despite its production and pushing the song's aggressive style to new heights. Opened by a siren-driven synthesizer and pulsating, bass-beats, the track starts off nicely only to become repetitive in the end with its wailing sirens and droning guitars.

The next two tracks are remixes for the electro-funk of Only. First is an electronic-driven remix by El-P where the song’s funky rhythms is slowed down to become a more trip-hop driven track. The production of the song is excellent for its different approach with its distorted, scratchy beats and taking the song's beats and cut it into different areas. With a bit of synthesizers appearing along with guitars, the song's arty approach is radical yet brilliant into defying whatever expectations for the song. The Richard X remix of Only definitely takes the more expected approach of the electro-funk song by leaning towards its funky rhythms. The seven-and-a-half minute remix sounds like NIN meets Prince with its electro-funk beats and fast, droning synthesizers accompanied by layers upon layers of club beats. The song's chorus is sped up more to be driven by the song's funky tempo as Richard X goes for the funk as it becomes a real highlight for the record.

The final track is a five-minute remix of Every Day Is Exactly The Same by the rhythm section of Interpol in what is known as the (Sam Fog vs. Carlos D Mix). Leaning towards the song's art-rock approach, the track opens with its shimmering synthesizers led by rattling beats and a hypnotic, post-punk vibe. The mix gives the song's arrangements more range with its layers of pianos and brooding vocals to accompany the track's shimmering synthesizers. With its scratchy textures, the remix is an amazing standout thanks to its production and the guys in Interpol wanting to give the song a darker feel that makes them closer to their own post-punk sound.

Fans of the song Every Day Is Exactly The Same will surely find the EP as a wonderful buy thanks to its remixes of the song and the other mixes for The Hand That Feeds and Only. Surpassing the often arty yet pretentious remix work from The Fragile era, this EP reminds fans of why the remix has been a work of art for NIN. This time around, the record has more to offer than just reconstructions. There’s cuts that you can be amazed by its productions or others that you can dance to. In the end, Every Day Is Exactly The Same EP is an excellent record that NIN fans and dance music lovers can enjoy.

NIN Reviews:

Pretty Hate Machine/Broken Era (1989-1992): halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6

The Downward Spiral Era (1994-1997): halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 8 DE - halo 9 - halo 10 - halo 11 - halo 12

The Fragile Era (1999-2002): halo 13 - halo 14 - halo 15.1 - halo 15.2 - halo 15.3 - halo 16 - halo 17 DE - halo 17 DVD

With Teeth/Year Zero Era (2005-2007): halo 18 - halo 19 - halo 20 - halo 22 - halo 23 - halo 24 - halo 25

Ghosts I-IV/The Slip Era (2008): halo 26 - halo 27

Miscellaneous/Soundtracks: (The Crow) - (Natural Born Killers) - (Lost Highway) - (Tomb Raider) - (The Limitless Potential) - (Strobe Light)

Promos: (seed 1) - (seed 2) - (seed 3) - (seed 4) - (seed 5) - (seed 6)

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) - (NIN/Jane's Addiction/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater)

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