So, no doubt you’ve heard from everyone and their mums that Trent Reznor has gone crazier than ever and is offering his Nine Inch Nail’s latest album The Slip completely for free. For any quality – even 24 bit/96kHz WAVs.

What I’m finding even more staggering than Trent giving out the music for nothing is that I’m actually really liking this record so far – it feels far from being a throwaway experiment. It’s a real, cohesive NIN record, and so far (on my third play now) it feels solid from start to finish.

I’m not a Nine Inch Nails fan, but the fact that this was handed out in this manner has meant that I’ve actually given it a go when I might not have, and if these first impressions hold out then I’m pretty sure I’m going to go buy it in hard-copy form when it hits stores.

Even better, I feel like I’ve been able to make my own judgement on what I think of it rather than being biased by the plethora of reviews that usually land by the time a record is released or a leak surfaces. That feels nice – even if I do have a gnawing subconscious insecurity that Pitchfork will probably give it a 4.1 now that I’ve decided I like it. Well, who cares?