Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Gary Numan, BMG 2021.
Gary Numan is a hugely influential English electronica musician whose impact has been acknowledged by many of the world’s biggest names, including Trent Reznor of 9 Inch Nails, Roland Orzabal from Tears for Fears, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and even Jean-Michel Jarre.
Many will remember him from his world-wide hits in the late ‘70s with Tubeway Army and as a solo artist.
Tubeway Army’s album The Pleasure Principle reached number one on the UK Album Chart and the single Are Friends Electric? plus its album, Replicas, also hit number one.
As a solo artist his first single, Cars, became a massive world-wide hit charting around the globe and making his name in the US market where it reached number nine on Billboard as well as number one in Canada, the UK, Australia and Top Ten virtually everywhere else.
However, at the peak of his fame Gary Numan shirked the limelight and decided to move in a more experimental direction.
He threw himself into jazz/electronica experimentations and his stage shows became far more theatrical presentations than rock shows.
He also started writing film and stage scores, collaborated with an incredibly diverse range of musicians, and moved more heavily into production.
During his early pioneering work Numan experimented with synthesizers which he fed through guitar effects pedals and the resultant metallic output became his signature sound.
He had an incredible effect on the New Wave movement and electronic musicians in particular, but post punk musicians such as Reznor and Grohl were equally influenced.
The album Intruder is to be released in May and the lead single and title track (released earlier this year) tackles familiar themes with its warnings about humanity’s catastrophic behaviour and fears for the future of the planet.
I Am Screaming is the second single and it’s just been released.
Where the opening single presented an image of a dying world, I Am Screaming is a desperate plea for us to do something about it or, in the final words of the song, “you’re welcome to die with me”.
Both the singles are classic Gary Numan and it’s amazing how contemporary his sound is.
The album is eagerly anticipated.
