Gary Numan's Jagged release: March 13th
Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:08 amThere seems to be some hope that he could be getting back into form. Here's the Jagged microsite:
http://www.jagged-album.com/
And some preview/reviews:
'Recently Numan has undergone a renaissance and he's going for broke with these anthemic tunes. Underpinned by steroidal beats - some featuring real drums - the massive synths and guitars are stacked up like some Babelesque tower constructed from breezeblocks. Subtle it ain't - listening on headphones feels like putting one's head in a car crusher - but it is supremely confident and the innovator of the late '70s never sounds like he's having to play catch-up.'
Mojo
'The beats are fresh, the incident effects impact nicely and there's more energy here than there should be from someone who has been through the music industry mill for the last quarter of a century plus. . . When the chorus of tracks like 'Slave', 'In A Dark Place' and the superb 'Haunted' hit home, you see the lights lift and the arms raise just like they did in '79.'
Future Music 8/10
'Comparing his current sound to the synths on Replicas, for example, is rather like comparing Terminator to Terminator 2. If Replicas was the future in a Buck Rogers/Barbarella kind of way, then Jagged is a prophesised Android Armageddon, replete with a dark wave industrial metal soundtrack. It's scary but the special effects are spellbinding. Numan's vocals are superb throughout, still disconnected obviously, but in songs such as 'In A Dark Place' and 'Haunted' he conjures up the soaring choruses that fill your head to bursting. Elsewhere, barely audible noises clash with bulldozer guitars, whispered voices speak of isolation but suggest that you are not alone, and bass lines swell and bounce like steel balloons, combining to make Jagged an exhilarating, if at times claustrophobic, experience.'
Musicomh.com
'This is his best work in a decade. There's even some potential for chart action here with 'In A Dark Place', especially, having enough links to the world of rawk to drag in a few Rammstein / Manson fans along the way.'
Metal4life.com
Did anyone listen to 2000's Pure? Any good? His Euro tour starts soon. I haven't seen any US dates.
http://www.jagged-album.com/
And some preview/reviews:
'Recently Numan has undergone a renaissance and he's going for broke with these anthemic tunes. Underpinned by steroidal beats - some featuring real drums - the massive synths and guitars are stacked up like some Babelesque tower constructed from breezeblocks. Subtle it ain't - listening on headphones feels like putting one's head in a car crusher - but it is supremely confident and the innovator of the late '70s never sounds like he's having to play catch-up.'
Mojo
'The beats are fresh, the incident effects impact nicely and there's more energy here than there should be from someone who has been through the music industry mill for the last quarter of a century plus. . . When the chorus of tracks like 'Slave', 'In A Dark Place' and the superb 'Haunted' hit home, you see the lights lift and the arms raise just like they did in '79.'
Future Music 8/10
'Comparing his current sound to the synths on Replicas, for example, is rather like comparing Terminator to Terminator 2. If Replicas was the future in a Buck Rogers/Barbarella kind of way, then Jagged is a prophesised Android Armageddon, replete with a dark wave industrial metal soundtrack. It's scary but the special effects are spellbinding. Numan's vocals are superb throughout, still disconnected obviously, but in songs such as 'In A Dark Place' and 'Haunted' he conjures up the soaring choruses that fill your head to bursting. Elsewhere, barely audible noises clash with bulldozer guitars, whispered voices speak of isolation but suggest that you are not alone, and bass lines swell and bounce like steel balloons, combining to make Jagged an exhilarating, if at times claustrophobic, experience.'
Musicomh.com
'This is his best work in a decade. There's even some potential for chart action here with 'In A Dark Place', especially, having enough links to the world of rawk to drag in a few Rammstein / Manson fans along the way.'
Metal4life.com
Did anyone listen to 2000's Pure? Any good? His Euro tour starts soon. I haven't seen any US dates.