It’s remarkable when you think of it but once you get to a certain age, let’s say 50 for the sake of convenience, there are not many musical artists who have been with you the whole crooked pathway through life, certainly those that are still valid and have been pretty much there for you every step of the way. Gary Numan is one such rare example and comes from a time that another writer reminisces at watching old Tubeway Army on a TV with only three channels and when such things as the Internet are purely speculative and in the realms of science fiction. It’s that realm that he came from and even though you may think of a song like Cars at mention of his name, he has not actually been trapped in his all these years like something from a JG Ballard novel but has constantly reinvented himself, pushed boundaries and remained a valid musician and song-writer releasing around 20 solo albums since The Pleasure Principle in 1979. It’s great to be able to dip back through them and that is the danger when a new album comes out, wanting to just put everything else aside and pick through the old favourites; which in my case are a healthy mix of the older ones leading up to Warriors, Berserker and the newer era such as Pure and Jagged. One thing you could never accuse him of is hooking up on the nostalgia circuit and playing festivals which are more like garden tea parties alongside the likes of Five Star, Bananrama and Go West. The youthful looks no doubt partly helped by luck and a healthy lifestyle are still there and so for a horde of Numanoids as his devout fans are known, are the great songs.
Intruder which strikes as a perfect album title sees 12 of them along with one alternative version and is a solid hour + in length. He doesn’t even skimp on that side of things and once these songs are fully absorbed, which I admit is something that is not going to be instantaneous we have another collection that could well be considered a classic album in years to come. Another thing that is worth noting is that it is all rooted in a time before multi-genre classification and although you may use descriptors today such as Synthwave, Gary Numan was doing something way ahead of his time when he started and apart from perhaps being given the futurist tag was pretty much beyond mere classification. The production is excellent and once ‘Betrayed’ with its strange howl at entry stats ebbing out and the slow beats flow, you know you are in for a full-bodied listening experience. Nothing is particularly frantic here, subtly and strength through melody are the key focus as well as obviously that soaring, instantly identifiable vocal presence that still has the strength to shake stadium rafters, or at least will have no problems doing so if normality ever resurfaces.
Caught in a warm flow and bask the songs really get into the head a few plays down and all have the power to become new firm favourites in the artist’s sprawling oeuvre. You certainly wouldn’t begrudge a large chunk of them being played live that’s for sure. Identity is strong, strange sounds at the start of ‘The Gift’ drop me in a time-warp and take back to a song like the Blade Runner enthused ‘Call Out The Dogs’ before settling into a sultry, twisting turning journey with ethnic sounds and effects that is enthused with everything from electronica to World Music. Of-course there’s often a hard-hitting chorus, you may well be kept on toes waiting for it but once it hits, the wow factor is still very much there. Listen out for the Fragile sort of piano sounding work on songs such as ‘I Am Screaming,’ which take in the sounds that other such artists have built their entire career on. It also proves that what is essentially a ballad does not need to be cheesy and its heartfelt delivery and lyrical prowess welcoming the listener to stand and walk with the composer through thick and thin which he truly deserves you to do so. The title track appears to have been played live before worldly shit hit the fan so to speak and broods with heft and electronic bombast moving into a jaunty and uplifting song designed for everyone joining in on the chorus and singing their hearts out as Numan evidently does, sounding like he is really enjoying doing so in the process. There’s an ironic religiosity about this thematically too and no doubt a lot of thought has gone into the themes within the songs here too. I am sure many will be studying these in depth once the album is released.
From more jagged moments (a suitable word) and more abrasive tracks like ‘Is The World Not Enough’ to gorgeous and intoxicating caresses such as ‘Black Sun’ there’s a whole gamut of moods and emotions expressed here. It sometimes hits as dystopian and also visionary, sudden effects will drop you into odd places like the clank of steel on steel on this one which for some reason takes me into the midst of Tina Turner’s Barter town in Mad Max 3. I can see ‘The Chosen’ being a single, it’s probably the most up-front and rocking number on the album and has a warping sense of electronics almost going into drum and bass territories with a touch of dubstep thrown in for good measure. As for the chorus, it’s incredibly powerful and nothing short of glorious. I expect this to be a favourite for many. But seriously there isn’t a dull moment or anything resembling a misnomer on the whole album even though there are a few numbers that could be considered slow-burners, they all get right under the skin. Speaking of which there’s a reason that The End Of Dragons was picked as the song deserving an extra version the piano melody here is absolutely breath-taking and it’s a song that really sends shivers down the spine. There’s no problem hearing it again closing the album with just one number sandwiched between the two versions in the slightest.
In short this is an essential album for all the fans out there and will not disappoint in the slightest. I’m not even going to suggest that someone who has not heard the wealth of material in the past to start elsewhere first due to the relevance and brilliance of this particular album legitimately standing up to everything that has come before it. To come up with an album like this well over 40 years into your career is simply remarkable!
(9/10 Pete Woods)
19/05/2021 at 9:56 pm
So Pete, who was that writer who reminisced about watching Tubeway Army on a TV with only 3 channels, I wonder? Joking aside, but damn me if Mr Webb doesn’t sound fresh and relevant! Modern acts like Yungblud are clearly just aping his style, but without the eloquence.