Send "Trent Reznor / Atticus Ross " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Rollingstone |
 Welcome to the multiplex of Trent Reznor's mind, where your ICEE is spiked with arsenic and there's a mind-control microchip at the bottom of every box of Goobers. Reznor's Oscar-winning soundtrack for David Fincher's The Social Network wasn't too far from Nine Inch Nails' industrial rock. But he had 14 months to throw himself into Fincher's adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and the result is an obsessive-compulsive studio necromancer at his most maximally creepy. Reznor and collaborator Atticus Ross roll out three hours of often weirdly engrossing metal-machine music, from "Oraculum," which distantly resembles a goth groove, to tracks like "Cut Into Pieces," which distantly resemble suicidal vacuum cleaners. But it mainly displays Reznor's knack for placing forlorn, darkly pretty pianos, keyboards or percussion sounds over glacial ambient whir and grind. There's a huge debt to Brian Eno at his most austere, along with occasional nods to modern classical minimalism (check those Steve Reich marimbas on "The Heretics"). There are also two actual rock songs: a stormy ballad from Reznor's side band How to Destroy Angels and an utterly boss synth-metal rip through Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," with Karen O swinging the hammer of the gods like a New Wave fjord witch, and bringing the midnight sun to Reznor's land of endless ice and snow....full text |
| Pitchfork |
| Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score for The Social Network was brilliant because it worked as a conventional film score even though its approach was boldly unconventional. The pair assembled a dense but brittle map of drones, foreboding sound effects, and delicate melodies, submerging acoustic sounds in pools of digital filters. The result was something suited to filmmaker David Fincher's work-- brooding, mysterious, and tinged with anxiety. The film world agreed: Reznor's first foray into soundtrack work after putting Nine Inch Nails on hiatus landed him both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Who knew? Fincher clearly has confidence in their abilities, as he tapped Reznor and Ross once again to score his latest movie, the film adaption of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. With the team earning another Golden Globe nomination, it would seem like they're doing something right. Dragon Tattoo doesn't differ drastically from Social Network but it's not a retread. For starters, this one's a three-hour beast, spread out over three CDs, six vinyl LPs, or a whopping 39 digital files. So while The Social Network could be received as a digestible standalone product, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo doesn't offer the same sort of flexibility. That's in part by design as much as structure: Where The Social Network had discernible motifs like "Hand Covers Bruise" and pseudo-techno like "In Motion", the music here is more obtuse, focused on building tension and defining space rather than conveying feeling or emotion through melody. Which means there are few standout tracks; instead, the most arresting moments emerge out of layers of increasingly damaged sounds that set an uncompromisingly bleak mood. The score's overcast outlook is well suited to Fincher's portrayal of Sweden as an outwardly and proudly modern country overrun with the dehumanizing potential of technology. It's a place haunted equally by industrial remnants of past eras and shameful personal and political histories. The task of Reznor and Ross is to create something conflicted between technology and tradition, and they opt for a sound that's essentially future-baroque: fiercely plucked strings, ominous bass, decaying chimes, and spare pianos held together with meticulous post-processing....full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a bleak, dark, and winding tale with no clear form or reason; a story with several climaxes and resolutions, acting as an emotionally exhausting labyrinth of convoluted storytelling. The first half is an extended introduction that takes its time getting to the point, while the latter part make up for it with a confounding and large amount of plot, subplot, and frenzied action that somehow makes sense when all is said and done. As a film, it’s somewhat disjointed and confusing; chaotic and sparse with unclear motives and events that come off as oddly translated and unevenly placed. Despite the multiple tracks in which the story rides, it’s held together by one indispensable force: the music of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Now it seems a bit heavy handed to put so much praise into the effectiveness of a soundtrack, but it’s truly marvelous what the duo of musicians have done here. Teaming up once more, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross-who previously worked on 2010’s critically acclaimed, Oscar winning The Social Network-have crafted the perfect companion piece to David Fincher’s dark and haunting re-imagining of The Girl With the Tattoo. The music on this nearly three hour behemoth is staggeringly consummate for the film, which is a biting and often times disturbing depiction of the ugliness of humanity, especially in regards to violence against women. Cold and ethereal, Reznor and Ross’ score matches the frigid and desolate wintry landscape of Sweden, all while fitting perfectly with the brokenness of the characters who reside there. Somewhere within the depths of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo lies some of Reznor and Ross’ most humanistic music to date. Falling somewhere between Nine Inch Nails’ Ghosts I-IV, and the duo’s previous collaboration, the soundtrack sounds terrifying and edgy, but largely eerily beautiful and mesmerizing. Tracks like “Hidden in the Snow” evoke a feeling of isolation, met with a feeling of dread and urgency. The panging strings chime with an uneasy tone, while the throbbing, mellow bass only furthers the unsettling atmosphere. This is where the soundtrack truly shines; creating an uncompromisingly dense and absorbing atmosphere that draws the listener into a menacing and gorgeous world of keys, samples, strings, and electronics. It’s rather difficult to pin down the exact technical way to accurately describe The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, as within its long runtime, the music makes radical shifts in tone and influence, and it makes them very, very often. The sounds range from industrial to drone, with ambient, dark ambient, and techno all making their appearances as well. It works, however, as the overall feeling and presentation is shockingly cohesive. Never once does that pitch perfect companionship of the film’s aesthetic and the music’s tone ever break. It’s impressive, really, that the musicians behind the score were able to make a massive, varied record that is always so uncompromisingly ingenious in regards to what the film tries to get across. However, it goes without saying that listening to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a massive undertaking, ambitious for even the most dedicated music listeners. It also must be said that the soundtrack works most effectively when paired with the film. Alone, the pieces are small pockets of atmospheric, absorbing music. Combined with the visceral and haunting film, the soundtrack then becomes something quite different. It’s easy to appreciate the creativity and sonic manipulations found here, but as a standalone listen, the score for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo feels a tad bit lacking without it’s visual companion....full text |
Trent Reznor / Atticus Ross lyrics
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