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Concert Preview

Nine Inch Nails “Peel It Back” Tour Hitting Raleigh This Fall

It’s a glorious time to be a goth, rivethead or leather-drenched 90’s sleazeball — Nine Inch Nails is touring again.

American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, headed by legendary multi-instrumentalists Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, recently announced the 2025 “Peel It Back” tour set to span across Canada, Europe and the United States.

This will be the band’s first tour since 2022, which featured a short run of cities across the US and UK.

Nine Inch Nails, first concieved in 1988, was the solo project of Trent Reznor, whose pulsating rhythms and acerbic lyricism straddled the line between the ascetic and hedonic.

Infused with a rough industrial slant, the works of NIN quickly solidified a unique, sensuous style.

The project’s debut album, “Pretty Hate Machine,” became one of the first indie records to go platinum, kickstarting Reznor’s prolific musical career.

He performed as the sole member of NIN until Atticus Ross officially joined in 2016, with the pair going on to produce award-winning scores for films like “The Social Network” and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”

Cover for “Pretty Hate Machine” by Nine Inch Nails

The tour will kick off June 15 in Dublin, Ireland and end Sept. 19 in Los Angeles.

The band is set to rock Raleigh Sept. 5 at Lenovo Center, located just a short drive from NC State campus.

While no information has been made available about possible setlists, it’s likely NIN will be pulling straight from the classics. For both long-time fans and newbies, it’s certain to be a wild event.

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Blog

Chainsaw Charts 2/4/25

Chainsaw Charts

#ArtistRecordLabel
1DEMON BITCHMaster of the GamesCruz del Sur
2BLAZING TOMBSingles From The Tomb [EP]Creator-Destructor
3IOTUNNKinshipMetal Blade
4MITOCHONDRIONVitriseptomeProfound Lore
5ORGONEChimera3 Palm
6SPITEThe Third TempleInvictus
7CHAT PILECool WorldThe Flenser
8DECEASEDChildren of the MorgueHells Headbangers
9ABHORRATIONDemonolatryInvictus
10CONCRETE WINDSConcrete WindsSepulchral Voice

Chainsaw Adds

#ArtistRecordLabel
1BLAZING TOMBSingles From The Tomb [EP]Creator-Destructor
Categories
Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts 2/4/25

Afterhours Charts

#ArtistRecordLabel
1ELA MINUSD​IADomino
2ENRAILEDeepfake FantasySelf-Released
3ROSE GRAYLouder, PleasePlay It Again Sam
4SEO“28” [Single]Self-Released
5PANORAM“What It Means” [Single]Running Back
6RIKA TANAOblivionKAOMOZI
7ღDJ魔女っ娘ミラクるんღMir4clen 5Lost Frog
8SHRIEK X DETCHIBEPlayOnlineSelf-Released
9BUTTERFLY BOYGood TimesSelf-Released
10LIL KEVO 303Toonz From The CryptDEATHBYSHEEP

Afterhours Adds

#ArtistRecordLabel
1ELA MINUSD​IADomino
2ENRAILEDeepfake FantasySelf-Released
3ROSE GRAYLouder, PleasePlay It Again Sam
4SEO“28” [Single]Self-Released
5PANORAM“What It Means” [Single]Running Back
6RIKA TANAOblivionKAOMOZI
Categories
Weekly Charts

Underground Charts 2/4/25

Underground Charts

#ArtistRecordLabel
1THEE SACRED SOULSGot A Story To TellDaptone
2LORD JAH-MONTE OGBON“So You Really Don’t Miss Me?” [Single]Lex
3VICTORIA PORT“Cigarette” [Single]First Word
4RAHIM SAMAD“Daylight” [Single]Self-Released
5TRANSAVARIOUS ARTISTSRed Hot
6MALLY AND LAST WORDThe Sweetest Of It AllMaLLy/Last Word Touring
7WILL WILDFIRE“Rolling The Stone” [Single]Self-Released
87XVETHEGENIUSDeath Of DeuceDrumwork
9YUKIMI“Break Me Down” [Single]Ninja Tune
10HANNAH STOKES“Waste Time” [Single]Raised Eden
Categories
Blog New Album Review

Soundbites: “EUSEXUA” – FKA Twigs

FKA Twigs released her newest project “EUSEXUA” on January 24, 2025. It’s a dance pop-heavy album with classic Twigs elements like interludes of screechy dissonance and eerie whispers.

“EUSEXUA” is definitely a different direction than twigs’ previous work; the production is more minimal, and the project feels more accessible overall. With earlier works like “EP2” featuring songs like “How’s That,” and “Ultraviolet,” Twigs went for a heavy-handed kind of experimental, which can often require space for the music to grow on you.

Given that “EP2” is my favorite twigs release, “EUSEXUA” and her minimal production was a little disappointing at first (“Eusexua” took me a couple listens to get used to, if we’re being honest). It felt too easy to listen to, which is a luxury I prefer to reserve for kitschy 2010s electropop. Or toxic mainstream R&B.

But then I got to the second half of the album. Specifically, “Sticky,” “Childlike Things,” “Striptease,” and “24hr Dog.” The second stretch was jarring and alien, the way I like FKA Twigs songs to be.


“sticky”

Following the ultra-dancey “Room of Fools,” “Sticky” is the sixth track on the album, comparatively quiet and vulnerable. Twigs sings over soft piano, admitting devastatingly candid (relatable) things:

"My body aches to be known / 
To be expressive in itself /
I want to forgive myself /
I want to release myself from the pain I have inside /
My body wants to be touched in the deepest darkest places /
I want to be loved"

Don’t we all?

Halfway through, the song picks up in pace and takes on this Flume-like buildup (think “Palaces“), until it implodes and scatters into whispers of “sticky situations.”


“Childlike Things”

Maybe the most controversial track on “EUSEXUA,” “Childlike Things” features none other than 11-year old North West, sporting the same bravado as her father Kanye.

“Childlike Things” is admittedly really fun. It’s another dance track, but the cadence is catchy, the backing vocals are frothy, and the content is absolutely absurd: North spreads the love of Christ in Japanese, and I’m not really sure why. I assume that’s the point, however, because children do not dabble in the business of making sense.


“Striptease”

Striptease” is the album’s ninth track, the production heavier, futuristic, and deeply resonant of Eartheater. Twigs’ vocals on this track phase between being classically soft and slurred and animalistic.

The entire song is a journey: at times bass-bound, at others weightless and ambient, the variation bleeding all the way down to the beat that feathers out midway to DnB, and then eventually settles on Jersey club. That sounds insane, but she makes it work so well.

I’d recommend watching the music video for it, because it gives the entire track new life. Twigs is an incredibly talented dancer who’s able to move in ways that aren’t exactly human; her movement accentuates all of the details of the music.


“24hr doG”

24hr Dog,” my beloved. My favorite track on “EUSEXUA.”

It makes me want to cry. Although the album bears other deeply vulnerable songs like “Sticky,” something about “24hr Dog” kills me in a way the others do not.

The production itself is gentle and dreamy, its power coming from reverberation and deep, steady pads both building upon one another.

It sings a song of desperate submission: to who or what exactly is up to interpretation. To art, to fear, to pain? To me it sounds like being on a metaphorical leash for love, only to realize you are the one holding it. “24hr Dog” is the point at which you can no longer hide behind image or illusion. When whatever it is you live for, becomes what you’d die for.


“EUSEXUA” might be an excursion of FKA twigs’ into the world of minimalistic production and club pop, but she hasn’t surrendered the depth she brings to her art. It’s versatile. You can take it with you wherever you go.

love & disco,

dirty chai

Categories
Weekly Charts

Jazz Charts 2/4/25

Jazz Charts

#ArtistRecordLabel
1HIGHCome Back Down [EP]Kanine
2UWADE“Call It A Draw” [Single]Thirty Tigers
3MOMMA“I Want You (Fever)” [Single]Polyvinyl
4PLANET PARLORTeddySelf-Released
5KIMIKO“Mood Stabilizer” [Single]4645013
Categories
Weekly Charts

Top Charts 2/4/25

Top Charts

#ArtistRecordLabel
112 RODSIf We Stayed AliveTerrible Hands
2LOVESEAT PETEAlamoSelf-Released
3MERCURYSwarm The Hive Mind [EP]Big Loud Rock
4TOMBSTONES IN THEIR EYESAsylum HarbourKitten Robot
518 DAYSLost In MotionSelf-Released
6CHERRY GLAZERRSugarSecretly Canadian
7FAZERDAZESoft Powersection1
8HORSE JUMPER OF LOVEDisaster TrickRun For Cover
9KING ROPESIdahoBig And Just Little
10LIP CRITICHex DealerPartisan
11LOCAL THE NEIGHBOURVALLEY pt.2slightly above average
12METAL BUBBLE TRIOCucumberSelf-Released
13SAYA GRAYQWERTY II [EP]Dirty Hit
14TAXI GIRLS“Rainy” b/w “The Lion’s Share” [Single]Wild Honey, Dirt Cult
15VARIETYSubtropicalVery Soft
16WEEP WAVESpeckCorpoRAT
17ADRIANNE LENKERBright Future4AD
18ASHER WHITEHome Constellation StudyBa Da Bing/Feeding Tube
19BRAD SUCKSNaturallySelf-Released
20BROADCASTDistant Call – Collected Demos 2000-2009Warp
21CAKES DA KILLABlack SheepYoung Art
22CERAMIC ANIMALCosmic EraserSelf-Released
23CHANEL BEADSYour Day Will ComeJagjaguwar/Secretly Group
24CHEEKFACE“Flies” [Single]Self-Released
25CHR!ST AND CASHMERE BEARDWonkSelf-Released
26CRXInteriors [EP]Self-Released
27ERICK THE ARCHITECTI’ve Never Been Here BeforeIDOL
28FEE THE EVOLUTIONIST“Memory Lane” feat. Edo G & Ruby Shabazz [Single]Fenetic
29FLAMINGOSISBetter Will ComeKahuna Style
30FLAU’JAE“AMF” feat. NLE Choppa [Single]EQ

Top Adds

#ArtistRecordLabel
1HIGHCome Back Down [EP]Kanine
2UWADE“Call It A Draw” [Single]Thirty Tigers
3MOMMA“I Want You (Fever)” [Single]Polyvinyl
4PLANET PARLORTeddySelf-Released
5KIMIKO“Mood Stabilizer” [Single]4645013
Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 1/28/25

Chainsaw Charts

#ArtistRecordLabel
1DEFEATED SANITYChronicles of LunacySeason of Mist
2SPITEThe Third TempleInvictus
3DEMON BITCHMaster of the GamesGates of Hell
4MITOCHONDRIONVitriseptomeProfound Lore
5GIGANAnomalous Abstractigate InfinitessimusWillowtip
6TENUEArcos, B​ó​vedas, P​ó​rticosZegema Beach
7DREAMLESS VEILEvery Limb Of The FloodRelapse
8IOTUNNKinshipMetal Blade
9GAEREAComaSeason Of Mist
10CHAT PILECool WorldThe Flenser

Chainsaw Adds

#ArtistRecordLabel
1DECEASEDChildren of the MorgueHells Headbangers
2ALCESTLes Chants De L’AuroreNuclear Blast
3IOTUNNKinshipMetal Blade
4MAYHEMICTobaSepulcharal Voice
5ORANSSI PAZUZUMuuntautujaNuclear Blast
6SCALDAncient Doom MetalHigh Roller
7BLIND GIRLSAn Exit ExistsPersistent Vision
8MITOCHONDRIONVitriseptomeProfound Lore
9PYRRHONExhaustWillowtip
10RIPPED TO SHREDSSanshiRelapse

Categories
Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts 1/28/25

Afterhours Charts

#ArtistRecordLabel
1KINOTEKIThe VisitorLimiting Factor
2ღDJ魔女っ娘ミラクるんღMir4clen 5Lost Frog
3SHRIEK X DETCHIBEPlayOnlineSelf-Released
4BUTTERFLY BOYGood TimesSelf-Released
5LIL KEVO 303Toonz From The CryptDEATHBYSHEEP
6DUSQKLoveless Mini Mix [EP]Self-Released
7COSINEVITales From The RainbowlandsTree Critters
8SAINT ETIENNEThe NightHeavenly/PIAS
9MARIE DAVIDSON“Sexy Clown” [Single]DEEWEE/Because
10E_DEATHAbandon LustSelf-Released
Categories
Weekly Charts

Underground Charts 1/28/25

Underground Charts

#ArtistRecordLabel
1HALIMAEXU [EP]drink sum wtr
2MILAN RINGMangosAstral People/PIAS
3SPIRA MEExisting & Lingeringexisting
4JAE SKEESEGround LevelDrumwork/Equity
5SGLILY AND EMOTIONALSGenki RockFull Metal
6KURIOUSMajicianRhymesayers/Metalface
7HAVIAH MIGHTY“Double The Fun” [Single]Mighty Gang Inc.
8WAHIDTHEY ALL GO MAD! [EP]Innovative Leisure
9HIATUS KAIYOTELove Heart Cheat CodeBrainfeeder
10KOKOKOBUTUTransgressive/PIAS