tweaker

After parting ways with Trent Reznor's influential industrial and alternative rock outfit Nine Inch Nails in 1996, drummer, producer, and songwriter Chris Vrenna immersed himself in an array of musical pursuits that extended well beyond his prior role. He handled production or co-production duties for acts such as Marilyn Manson, Rasputina, Xzibit, Red Delicious, Lords of Acid, and Cold, while also supplying remixes to U2, Nelly Furtado, Weezer, and additional artists. His contributions reached into soundtracks as well, including the dark, eerie instrumental score he composed in 2001 for the video game American McGee's Alice, itself drawn from Alice in Wonderland. That same year introduced his Tweaker project, a fusion of alternative pop/rock and electronica that listeners often linked to Nine Inch Nails on account of the eight years Vrenna had spent working with Reznor. Descriptors previously applied to the latter band—dark, moody, eerie, and shadowy—surfaced again with Tweaker, which likewise balanced aggression and melody within a thoroughly musical framework rather than depending on sheer force. Vrenna nevertheless asserted his own direction, creating a sound that incorporated industrial and goth rock elements without qualifying as industrial in the strict sense. Further influences ranged from David Bowie and Roxy Music to Marilyn Manson, Stabbing Westward, Depeche Mode, and select post-1980s recordings by U2.

In 2001 Vrenna assumed multiple responsibilities while recording Tweaker's The Attraction to All Things Uncertain for the San Francisco-based Six Degrees label, serving as producer on most tracks, contributing engineering work, and writing the majority of the material. Although he guided the sessions closely, outside assistance came from violinist Petra Haden, Shudder to Think's Craig Wedren, and assorted guitarists. The album title originated in Joe Sorren's painting "Elliot's Attraction to All Things Uncertain," an homage to Vrenna's appreciation for abstract art, and the conceptual pieces he wrote or co-wrote revolved around the bookish, likable nerdy character Elliot depicted in that work. Six Degrees issued The Attraction to All Things Uncertain in September 2001.

Most of 2002 centered on separate endeavors, yet in January 2003 Vrenna finalized an arrangement with Waxploitation and iMUSIC for the next Tweaker album. He resumed studio work on fresh material around the same time and added an in-progress page to his website so that fans could follow ongoing developments.