Reznor's How to Destroy Angels Debut First Track "A Drowning"

Just a week after revealing their new band How to Destroy Angels, Trent Reznor and his wife Mariqueen Maandig have unleashed the first product of their new collaboration, "A Drowning." The seven-minute track starts slowly, with former West Indian Girl frontwoman Maandig singing over a lurking bassline and The Fragile-esque piano. As the song progresses, shoegaze-y layers of dissonance and feedback build until the climax at the five-minute mark, after which the song literally drowns out with a slow coda.

Reznor finally confirmed he is a member of How to Destroy Angels via Twitter, where he posted, "New music from my new band" and linked to the Pitchfork story that includes a stream of "A Drowning." The song was reportedly produced by Alan Moulder, who worked with Reznor from The Downward Spiral through The Slip. Atticus Ross, another frequent Reznor collaborator, has also been identified as a member of How to Destroy Angels, which takes its moniker from a Coil song.

As Rolling Stone previously reported, How to Destroy Angels will release their self-titled six-song EP this summer.

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Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

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