NINE INCH NAILS

It's hard to believe that NINE INCH NAILS — masterminded by founder and single full-time member Trent Reznor — has only produced four full-length albums in 16 years, not including EPs and live recordings. Perhaps it's that slow pace of recording — after all, it's been six years alone since 1999's double album, "The Fragile" — that makes any real musical progression on the part of NIN seem minute.

"With Teeth" is a more compact and even more accessible animal than "The Fragile", which was an overly large and one-note cry of despair. The emotional gamut doesn't appear much wider on the new album, but many of the songs are concise and a few even have an urgency that generally lacks in other parts of the record. The album starts off on a melancholy note with "All The Love In The World", a minimal electronic rhythm circling restlessly under Reznor's now-familiar and anxiety-ridden vocals. A stark piano kicks in halfway through the track before it segues into the angry "You Know What You Are", which represents NIN at its most frantic and industrial.

Despite the many dark emotions that a reportedly happier (at least these days) Reznor channels on "With Teeth", the curious distance that has marked most of the act's material is still there. Although in some ways, this is the most "band-like" NIN album ever (thanks perhaps to some solid drumming from FOO FIGHTERS' Dave Grohl on a large portion of the disc),the use of electronics will always create a sort of barrier between the listener and whatever feelings Reznor is trying to channel.

Nevertheless, "With Teeth" has many enjoyable moments. "The Hand That Feeds" is a simple and relentless rocker, while "Love Is Not Enough" features an ingratiating and harsh riff over loose, shuffling drums — surely one of the most spontaneous-sounding tunes NIN has recorded. "Only" and the scorching "Getting Smaller" have a more live feel to them too, a direction that Reznor should continue to explore.

Aside from the heavier material, much of the record's slower, moodier numbers suffer from that same emotional distance. "Beside You In Time" is an eerie exception, a disorienting number based on cascading vocals and effects, although album closer "Right Where It Belongs" struggles for significance and a hint of grandeur, but comes up short.

"With Teeth" doesn't offer up any fresh or innovative breakthroughs for Trent Reznor and NINE INCH NAILS, but at the very least, one can sense that there is a human being in there trying to make a very personal musical statement. After so many years, however, Reznor's howls of anguish still don't seem as raw or direct as they could be, and NINE INCH NAILS, teeth or not, lacks just enough bite to make this a truly remarkable comeback.