Ghosts I-IV - Nine Inch Nails
Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
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  1. MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
    91
    Finer minds than mine may find these pieces worthy of continuous attention. I say they're background music, there waiting when your mind drifts speakerward, just distracting enough to change up your mood in a useful way.
  2. Uncut
    80
    Without Reznor's shouting, they're more hypnotic, even, at times, soothing. [June 2008, p.98]
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  3. Spin
    80
    A stunning collection of 36 instrumental tracks that is one of the most varied and ambitious releases of Reznor's career. [May 2008, p.104]
  4. Tiny Mix Tapes
    80
    Ghosts I-IV is a clear step forward while still managing to stay true to what NIN traditionally ought to sound like and represent.
  5. PopMatters
    80
    He shows here that he is much more than the swagger and smut of some of his previous releases. He has made it clear to the world that he has real vision and dexterity.
  6. Rolling Stone
    70
    Reznor's own hyperdetailed language defines the set: heaving synthesizers, doleful piano, alien-insect noises.
  7. NOW Magazine
    60
    At 36 tracks, Ghosts is as impressively ambitious as it is uneven and stunted.
  8. Sputnikmusic
    60
    This album is surely a success, its just there is a lot of things that a great album like 'My Life in the Bush of The Ghosts' (which Ghosts sincerely seems indebted to) have that are missing here.
  9. Village Voice
    60
    It's basically a minimalist record that coasts on one's predilection for NINoise.
  10. Pitchfork
    50
    Even if every one of these tracks stands as a formal experiment unto itself, after an hour or two these half-formed ideas begin to bleed indistinctly into each other, evolving into puddles of vaguely ominous aural mush.
  11. Blender
    50
    The album could easily have come from Boards of Canada or any number of downcast groups--if it were shorter. [May 2008, p.78]
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  12. All Music Guide
    50
    It's meant to be taken as surface, perhaps skimmed for samples, but generally to be used as mildly unsettling mood music--a specialty of Reznor's, to be sure, but he's better and scarier when his ideas are more finely honed than they are here.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 19
  3. Negative: 3 out of 19
  1. BobS.
    10
    Ghosts is Amazing! Trent is the most vital artist in the music industry today. The man is a f*cking genius!
  2. JimmyR.
    10
    This is really different, and that is a good thing.
  3. BradleyH.
    10
    I never write reviews and I look at the site daily. I have to state that who ever these music critics are and their opinions and critiques of artist work never reflects the true nature of the album being review. Trent Reznor makes art. These critics are writers and perhaps want-to-be musicians. We should all listen to each other when deciding to purchase a record. Who are these critics anyway, what are there qualifications and why do we even care about their opinions. Music is art. Trent Reznor stands alone.… Full Review »
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