Jagged [Jug 'Ed] by Gary Numan

Review dated 26th March 2006

So, I finally get to write a few words about the "new" album. Well, it is a couple of weeks old now so I expect the next one is well on it's way to completion. After all, He couldn't expect us to wait another five and a half years could He?

For now, it will just be a quick overview, because I haven't had time to do much else!

As with "Pure", I found this a disappointment when I first heard it. The opener, "Pressure", has an intro which is far too long and it doesn't get an awful lot better when He does eventually start to "sing". Lyrically He seems to having a go at someone - no change there then - but I'm not sure if it's God again or "the handful" of fans on AFEnet who seem to upset Him a lot.

I heard some short clips from "Fold" and thought it would be rubbish. I was wrong. I quite like it and it's my second favourite song on the album. Nice singing in the verses, good chorus, fantastic ending.

Who hasn't made a big mistake? "Halo" seems like one to me. I can't stand the singing in the verses on this one.

The album has a lot of similarities with its predecessor in the way that it has some tracks that I like some parts of very much, but as a whole, the songs don't seem to quite have enough. "Slave" is a good example of this. Verses are pretty uninteresting. Here's something to remind you does what it says on the tin with some killer synth sounds chucked in that seem to have roots based in Numan's first four years of making albums. Then comes the bit that makes you listen to the track again - the ending. If anyone has listened to this and got only half way through before skipping to the next track (which is probably understandable), I urge you to give it a chance and wait for the end. Love the multi-layered vocals.

In a Dark Place sums up the album really. Again it has its good parts and is certainly growing on me.

"Haunted" is saved from mediocrity by some more great heavy synths and a good chorus.

My favourite track is "Blind". Fantastic vocals, great keyboard lines, strong choruses.

"Before You Hate It"? "Already too late mate" is what I thought on the first listen to the album! But most tracks up to now have definitely been 'growers'. You can pick out a lot that you like from each song bar a couple and this is no exception. Once more though, the best bit of this track is the last part. It's the waiting for it that just niggles me.

It turns out that the title of that last song was entirely apt, 'cos I really do hate it after this. "Melt", "Scanner" and "Jagged" I can only describe as poor, and that's being polite. The saddest thing about this is that the lyric to "Scanner" is quite touching and if more effort had been made musically, this would have been a truly beautiful track. I can't think of a single good thing about either of the other two tracks.

In some ways, I am really starting to like this album quite a lot. In others, it annoys the hell out of me. There are really fantastic bits in a lot of songs, but that's all they are - bits. He certainly knows how to create an atmosphere though, I'll give Him that. But is that enough? I'm not sure yet. Time will tell, it always does in the end. For now, I could only give the album 5 out of 10 based on the number of tracks that I really don't like, and the great parts being hidden away in otherwise very average songs at best.

This album has a Numanarchist's rating of 5 / 10.