When it comes to late-career transformations, few would have expected Trent Reznor to reinvent his sound anytime soon. For the past 30 years, the Nine Inch Nails mastermind has carved out a jagged niche in alternative rock, and his last few albums haven’t budged much from it. (If anything, Reznor’s most intriguing recent work has been in his scores for films like The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.) And with NIN, it seemed like Reznor was content to headline festivals and arenas rather than pioneer new, subversive noise. Yet with the release of NIN’s latest EP, Bad Witch, Reznor again pushes himself to the precipice of experimental music with six harrowing songs that dabble in the dark audio arts.

On the EP’s closing track, “Over and Out,” Reznor crafts a lush and unexpected tangle of instruments that seem to wriggle with anticipation. Tremolo saxophone echoes in the background like a whale song, and little thwacks of programmed percussion evoke a ping-pong ball dribbling off the table. The least likely of all these textures is the marimba that tiptoes around the song’s perimeter. It isn’t until the 2:50 mark that Reznor’s vocals arrive to relay that “time is running out,” his robust harmonies overtaking the song like gale force winds, while he simultaneously whispers cryptic reflections just under the mix: “Feel like I’ve been here before/Over and over again/Am I remembering you correctly/Over and over again?” As his voice recedes, a snarl of synthesizers and woodwinds escalate and dissolve into oceanic ambience. In the wake of “Over and Out,” a reinvigorated Reznor emerges.