In late March 2020, as much of the globe was quarantined at home in response to the coronavirus pandemic,
Nine Inch Nails surprised fans with a pair of sequels to their instrumental 2008
Ghosts I-IV compilation. The first of the two,
Ghosts V: Together is the warm yang to its partner's darker yin, an atmospheric and soothing work that aims to comfort and offer hope. Like the first four volumes of the series,
Ghosts V is all instrumental. However, this time around,
Trent Reznor and
Atticus Ross improve upon the original concept by offering more fully realized songs (and descriptive song titles) instead of scraps and vignettes, thanks to their decade of film and television scoring. Ethereal and whimsical, but tinged by a slight air of uncertainty,
Ghosts V is like visiting a day spa in some apocalyptic dystopia ("Together") where nearly ten-minute meditation exercises come complete with a respirator for the breathing exercises ("With Faith"). The ambient dreamscapes drift along, weaving into one another over the course of 70 minutes as track titles remind socially distant listeners of things taken for granted before the pandemic hit ("Out in the Open," "Your Touch," "Hope We Can Again"). It's a bittersweet journey that manages to be uplifting (as far as
NIN albums can be uplifting) without ignoring the fact that sadness, anxiety, and uncertainty about the future are lurking just around the corner. To bridge the energies of the two efforts,
Reznor and
Ross present album closer "Still Right Here," which slowly builds to a thrilling synth-and-guitar payoff midway through the song, providing a beat-driven shock to the system in preparation for the darkness to come on
Ghosts VI: Locusts. Of the two,
Ghosts V: Together is the one to help lift spirits and calm the soul, a welcome escape from the tension and paranoia of the real world.