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Ghosts V: Together

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Ghosts V: Together
Studio album by
Nine Inch Nails
ReleasedMarch 26, 2020 (2020-03-26)
GenreAmbient[1]
Length70:24
LabelThe Null Corporation
Producer
Nine Inch Nails chronology
Bad Witch
(2018) 		Ghosts V: Together
(2020) 		Ghosts VI: Locusts
(2020)
Halo numbers chronology
Halo 32
(2018) 		Halo 33
(2020) 		Halo 34
(2020)

Ghosts V: Together is the tenth studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. It was released as a free download on March 26, 2020, as a show of solidarity with the band's fans during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3] It is a follow-up to the 2008 instrumental album Ghosts I–IV,[3][4] and released simultaneously with their eleventh album, Ghosts VI: Locusts.[3]

Background

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In 2019, after releasing their eighth soundtrack to the film Bird Box, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross completed a subsequent score for The Woman in the Window; however, when the production studio decided to re-edit the film after test screenings,[5] Reznor and Ross's score was withdrawn.[6] When evoking the project, Reznor admitted, “It’s frustrating when you did that much work and it’s gone. And we were proud—and they were proud—of the movie that it was.”[6]

In March 2020, following two subsequent 2019 soundtracks Watchmen[7] and Waves,[8] Reznor announced two unexpected releases, Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts, for free download through the official Nine Inch Nails website, YouTube channel, and streaming platforms:[4][9][10] "Hours and hours of music. Free. Some of it kind of happy, some not so much."[11] The band's website added, "As the news seems to turn ever more grim by the hour, we've found ourselves vacillating wildly between feeling like there may be hope at times to utter despair—often changing minute to minute. Although each of us define ourselves as antisocial-types who prefer being on our own, this situation has really made us appreciate the power and need for CONNECTION."[12]

Two tracks from the album have been featured in the FX comedy-drama television series The Bear: "Hope We Can Again" featured in the Season 2 finale 'The Bear',[13] and "Together" subsequently featured extensively in the Season 3 premiere 'Tomorrow'.[14]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[15]
Metacritic81/100[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]
Blabbermouth.net9/10[18]
Exclaim!8/10[19]
The Line of Best Fit8.5/10[20]
Loud and Quiet8/10[21]
NME[22]
Paste8.7/10[23]
Pitchfork7.7/10[24]
Rolling Stone[1]
Sputnikmusic3.8/5[25]

Ghosts V: Together received acclaim from music critics, with an average rating of 81 out of 100 based on eleven reviews on Metacritic.[16] James McMahon of NME referred to the album as "more soothing than balm," and "a soundtrack to an edit of 2001: A Space Odyssey where no-one dies."[22] Rolling Stone's Kory Grow thought that Ghosts V and Ghosts VI "felt like distinct artistic statements unlike the first Ghosts collection." Grow also remarked that Ghosts V was "spacious with gentle buzzing, humming, and exhaling drones that slowly evolve, complementing often pretty piano music."[1] Sean T. Collins of Pitchfork considered the record as "solidly the stronger of the two", noting that "throughout, there's a vibe of quiet optimism".[24]

For Jon Pareles of The New York Times, "the more approachable of the two albums," Ghosts V is "largely meditative, circling through melodic patterns and touching down in consonance. The music is not entirely soothing [...] but it hints at some possibility of confluence, stability and eventual resolution." The album "has prettier, warmer ingredients [...], serenely elegiac piano melodies, counterpoint in plinking bell tones and choirs of sampled voices."[26]

Spin critic John Paul Bullock described both records as "heady, confrontational albums that, like the best art, force consideration and conversation" while noting them to be "definitely not a polite distraction from what's going on in the world outside of your home." Bullock further thought that the tracks on Ghosts V are "big, bold, dynamic, and show a particular mastery of modular synthesis" and various influences on the record do not "overshadow the originality of Reznor and Ross's sound."[27] Sputnikmusic critic Simon regarded Ghosts V as "more organic and acoustic sounding" than Ghosts VI, and remarked that the record "features a calmer, at times relaxed sound, yet you can feel tension slowly mounting around you."[25] Neil Z. Yeung made a similar comparison in the review for AllMusic, claiming the album is "the warm yang to its partner's darker yin, an atmospheric and soothing work that aims to comfort and offer hope."[17]

Track listing

[edit]
Track listing for Ghosts V: Together
No.TitleLength
1."Letting Go While Holding On"9:40
2."Together"10:04
3."Out in the Open"5:16
4."With Faith"9:40
5."Apart"13:36
6."Your Touch"4:28
7."Hope We Can Again"7:28
8."Still Right Here"10:12
Total length:70:24

Charts

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Chart performance for Ghosts V: Together
Chart (2020) Peak
position
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[28] 64
US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[29] 51

References

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  1. ^ a b c Grow, Kory (March 27, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails' 'Ghosts V and VI' Combine Hope With Shadows for a Soundtrack to a World in Crisis". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  2. ^ Chan, Anna (March 26, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails Drops Two Surprise New Albums For Free in These 'Weird Times'". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Farokhmanesh, Megan (March 26, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails just released two new albums for free". The Verge. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Tan, Emily (March 26, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails Surprise Fans with Two New Albums". Spin. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  5. ^ Keegan, Rebecca (July 9, 2019). "Amy Adams' 'Woman in the Window' to Move to 2020 as Disney Retools Fox Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Monroe, Jazz (December 24, 2019). "Trent Reznor Calls Scoring Bird Box a "Fucking Waste of Time," Scraps The Woman in the Window Score". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Grow, Kory (October 21, 2019). "Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross Plot Three-Volume 'Watchmen' Soundtrack Albums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  8. ^ "WAVES (ORIGINAL SCORE) - Nine Inch Nails". Nine Inch Nails. November 26, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  9. ^ Bloom, Madison; Monroe, Jazz (March 26, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails Drop New Album Ghosts V-VI". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  10. ^ Kreps, Daniel (March 26, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails Surprise-Release Album Sequels to 'Ghosts' Series". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  11. ^ Reznor, Trent (March 26, 2020). "Anybody out there? New Nine Inch Nails out now. Ghosts V - VI. Hours and hours of music. Free. Some of it kind of happy, some not so much". @trent_reznor. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  12. ^ "Nine Inch Nails Ghosts V-VI Available Now". nin.com. March 26, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  13. ^ NME (June 17, 2024). "Nine note-perfect needle-drops in FX's 'The Bear' on Disney+". NME. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  14. ^ Gajjar, Saloni (June 27, 2024). "The Bear just changed the music montage as we know it". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  15. ^ "Ghosts V: Together by Nine Inch Nails reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V: Together". Metacritic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Yeung, Neil Z. (March 26, 2020). "GHOSTS V: TOGETHER - Nine Inch Nails | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  18. ^ Gorania, Jay H. (March 30, 2020). "Ghosts V: Together" / "Ghosts VI: Locusts". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  19. ^ Hudson, Alex (April 7, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails Ghosts V: Together | Exclaim!". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  20. ^ Kelly, Tyler Damara (March 26, 2020). "Offering both harsh reality and escape, Nine Inch Nails are at their best pushing expectations". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  21. ^ Skala, Jemima (March 31, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V & VI - Review". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  22. ^ a b McMahon, James (March 26, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails – 'Ghosts: V-VI' review: a timely two-part dip into daydreams and nightmares". NME. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  23. ^ Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (March 31, 2020). "On Ghosts V and VI, Nine Inch Nails Soundtrack the Unthinkable". Paste. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  24. ^ a b Collins, Sean T. (April 1, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails — Ghosts VI: Together Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  25. ^ a b Stanciu, Raul; Simon (March 27, 2020). "Review: Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts V: Together (staff)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  26. ^ Pareles, Jon (March 31, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails Faces the Pandemic With Hope, Despair and Noise". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  27. ^ Bullock, John Paul (March 27, 2020). "Nine Inch Nails Face the Despair of Today on Ghosts V-VI". Spin. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  28. ^ "Nine Inch Nails Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  29. ^ "Nine Inch Nails Chart History (Top Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
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