I’m on record as being a huge Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor fan, but it’s hard not to acknowledge that the group’s last few records have either been formulaic or, in the case of Ghosts, different to the point of being occasionally uncomfortable. While Not the Actual Events is sometimes predictable, it often has a brashness and urgency to it that Reznor hasn’t had in a long time.

A quick listen to the alternately pulsing and attacking “Branches / Bones” reveals Reznor at his peak. “The Idea of You” is reminiscent of the angriest moments of With Teeth, but it goes beyond that and reminds me of The Downward Spiral’s most furious moments. And finally, “Burning Bright (Field on Fire)” mixes Black Sabbath-style ferocity with the curious meandering of “Right Where It Belongs” to create something that truly embodies a modern Reznor-ian sound.

Now we just have to wait for the actual event.

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Trent Reznor’s work here is obviously influenced by his more electronic Nine Inch Nails records, which I love. In fact, some songs — like In Motion — are remixes of work from Nine Inch Nail’s Ghosts (which is also a fantastic record).

Hand Covers Bruise is drenched in melancholy, but A Familiar Taste is dripping with angst. The Gentle Hum of Anxiety is a perfect title for one of the most anxiety-inducing bits of music from a film I’ve ever heard. But at the end of the day, the track you most need to hear from this is the cover of In the Hall of the Mountain King.

If there was ever an obvious pairing, it’s Trent Reznor and David Fincher. Both of them are fascinated by using digital techniques to improve what are traditionally analogue mediums. While both are praised by fans and critics, there’s also a left-wing conservative group of people in both mediums who say they’re going against what music and film is all about. But it doesn’t matter. With The Social Network in particular, they’ve made their piece de resistance: a piece of digital art in an analogue framework about a movement to make real relationships more digital and artificial. There’s something beautiful about that.

Film soundtracks are interesting because they rarely stand on their own. The Social Network not only stands on its own, but it’s one of my all-time favourite albums — and perhaps my favourite electronic album of all time.

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