Gimme Fiction With Teeth

Yesterday I bought two CDs.
Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth.
I first saw NIN in 1990. The impression I got then was "rage". Trent was pissed off. And his music thrives off of turmoil. What made Pretty Hate Machine a thing of beauty was the sense that underneath it all, as angry as that album was, their was doubt. Should I feel this way? Am I right to have so much loathing? The difference between the album and the live show was the sense of restraint. On the stage, there was none. It seems that everything since then has been an attempt to convey that energy in the recordings. Sometimes it does come through. There is an art to it; a balance that must be struck. The best example is the Broken ep. And it remains so, but on With Teeth he almost gets there again. I don't know if Trent is actually angry for real anymore, but I'm inclined to conclude that he is. That, as far as the music is concerned, is a good thing. Is the writing weak sometimes, and does it occasionally sound like his vocal cords are being held taut by little demons living in his throat? Yes. Even so, this is a worthy addition to the canon of halos.
Spoon - Gimme Fiction.
If the Decemberists are too quirky for you, and mainstream radio is too boring (yeah yeah, goes wit'out sayin') may I suggest Spoon. There is something vaguely 70's arena rock about this band, plus a dash of barbershop quartet topped off with Capote's "In Cold Blood". Don't listen to it, absorb it. Standout tracks: "The Beast and Dragon, Adored", "Merchants of Soul" and my favorite, "I Summon You".