The sprawling and dark
Jagged finds
Gary Numan continuing his love affair with all things gothic and industrial, and while many of the tracks are rich, layered, and downright creepy, the album as a whole is tough going, with too many songs sounding the same. The soft-loud-soft-even-louder technique that
Nine Inch Nails often employ is beaten to death here and long, eerie intros are the norm.
Numan's lyric writing is inspired, mostly by betrayal and heartbreak, and his teaming with multi-instrumentalist
Ade Fenton has brought on a new sound for the veteran synth-man, one with landscapes that are sinister and vast. It's mesmerizing for a track or two, then three or for more, and the listener is begging for a melody or something sharp to cut through the muck. Taken in small doses,
Jagged works better, if not extremely well, but only the hardcore need to check this wandering and bleak album.