Gary Numan has really been hit and miss over the years. He’s never put out a completely BAD album, but when not in top form can be a bit on the bland side. Fortunately, this new release ranks up there as one of his best since the early 80′s. “Jagged” is a very dark and aggressive album, but the production keeps the thrashing guitars and industrial noise restrained enough for Numan’s distinctive voice can really shine. The occasional generic sounding guitar riff brings things down a bit, but overall the disc has some great sweeping choruses and strong melodic hooks. “Jagged” is a very solid release that should satisfy long-time fans and appeal to anyone who likes dark electronic/rock hybrids. Just don’t expect the next “Cars,” as Numan is definitely NOT on the retro bandwagon.
• LISTEN TO & BUY THE CD from Amazon.com
• Click here to read an interview we did with Gary Numan in 2000.
When Chaos Control was first starting up in late 1992, I was on the Prodigy online service networking and doing promotion. Back then, I was using a black and white “Macintosh Classic” with a 1400 baud modem (very slow!) One of the people I met on the discussion boards was none other than Trent Reznor. At the time, the Nine Inch Nails “Broken” EP had just come out, and he was in the studio working on “The Downward Spiral.” He wasn’t really doing press then, but agreed to be interviewed for the first edition of Chaos Control as long as I promised not publish the article anywhere else. A call to his publicist (who I’d dealt with in the past) confirmed that my new online friend was indeed the REAL Trent Reznor and a phone interview was set up. It proved to be a very interesting interview, with Reznor talking about the origins of NIN, his problems with TVT Records, labeling music, and more. 
Thanks to independently developed software such as Nanoloop and Little Sound DJ, the Nintendo Gameboy has turned into the instrument of choice for a growing number of electronic musicians. While the Gameboy’s 8-bit soundchip is somewhat limited, it has a warm, crunchy sound that works well when taken beyond the context of simply supplying video game soundtracks. Musically, Gameboy tracks run the gamut from energetic electronic pop to weird, often scary-sounding experimental stuff. On the more danceable end of the spectrum is New York’s Josh Davis, aka Bit Shifter, who will soon embark on a 