Band:	Gary Numan
Album:	Jagged
Style:	Darkwave, Gothic rock, Industrial rock
Release date:	March 2006

01. Pressure
02. Fold
03. Halo
04. Slave
05. In A Dark Place
06. Haunted
07. Blind
08. Before You Hate It
09. Melt
10. Scanner
11. Jagged

These days what people refer to as 'industrial' rock or metal can to a large extent be categorized as kindergarten music. If what you want to find is the bozos and clowns of modern rock, this is precisely where you need to turn to. What used to be an excitingly post-modern form of rock has now devolved into the domain of whining posers and plasticity merchants. This is why the new Gary Numan album seems so fresh and valuable (even though musically speaking, it isn't). It is industrial rock for adults, with elegant melodies, economic yet intelligent use of production gimmicks and absolutely fabulous lyrics.

Numan is obviously not the same robotic pop messiah that we are familiar with from his heyday. He can still write a good pop hook though and gems such as "Fold", "In A Dark Place" and "Blind" are proof enough of this. The rest of Jagged is, however, a much bleaker and darker affair. The familiar industrial rock conventions are beaten to death here and yet Numan makes them work by infusing them with his own unique personality. Somehow even a by the numbers piece like "Melt" is listenable and intriguing. Numan still is an outsider and perceiving the world through his own personal lens is a very interesting and rewarding experience even if the accompanying music is not terribly original.

Jagged is very obviously far from a masterpiece. It doesn't tread any new ground and it relies on a few too many stylistic cliches. Still, as far as this style of music is concerned, it is one of the most interesting albums released in the last few years.