Savage (Songs from a Broken World)
by Gary Numan
  • Record Label: BMG
  • Release Date: Sep 15, 2017
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
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  1. Under The Radar
    Nov 29, 2017
    60
    Numan allows his compositions some room to breathe by occasionally slowing the tempo while the mood morphs from murky to majestic as he lets his Berlin-era Bowie influence seep in. His glassy futuristic voice is as crystalline as ever and fits snuggly within the slick production.
  2. musicOMH.com
    Oct 11, 2017
    60
    There’s much to admire about Savage, but it’s definitely one that you have to be in a particular mood to enjoy.
  3. Q Magazine
    Sep 18, 2017
    60
    Numan and collaborator Ade Fenton complement the narrative with a sand-blown, Eastern gothic mood, featuring use of Arabic scales, which evoke a desert within the human soul as much as any hypothetical desert Earth. [Oct 2017, p.107]
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  5. The Guardian
    Sep 18, 2017
    60
    Tunefulness permeates the intensity like rays of sunshine.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 2 out of 11
  1. StevenX
    Oct 1, 2017
    9
    Numan has been mining this particular industrial vein since 2000's "Pure". You'd think after seventeen years the guy would have either run outNuman has been mining this particular industrial vein since 2000's "Pure". You'd think after seventeen years the guy would have either run out of ideas entirely or branched out into other tangents. That this album is as menacing, profound, and vital as this is mind-boggling. While my favorite all-time Numan is still "Sacrifice", which was much more varied than this musically, this keeps me hooked from start to finish, despite the irony of an album named "Savage" having a much higher ballad-to-slammer ratio than I would have expected. The thread running through it all is atmosphere, and Numan is the master. I admit the stereotypical font on the cover was puzzling, and Gary could use some new input re album titles (both this and his previous "Splinter" could do without the parenthetical subtitles). Even some image consulting might help; Numan has clearly always been a big Bowie fan, but where Bowie changed entire personas, Numan lately just changes outfits. But enough about fashion - the music redeems any such trifle and then some.… Full Review »
  2. almajcen
    Sep 27, 2017
    9
    I've been a fan of Numan from the beginning, from his days with his breakout band Tubeway Army, through to his time in the wilderness when heI've been a fan of Numan from the beginning, from his days with his breakout band Tubeway Army, through to his time in the wilderness when he dabbled in American Techno-pop. Savage: Songs from a Broken World has to be his best album in the last 20 years, and probably his greatest work since Replicas. It's haunting themes at times raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

    Intricately crafted tunes of a dystopian future, purposefully discordant, evoking visions of where humanity could be heading if we collectively don't get our act together.

    Savage: Songs from a Broken World is a must-have for any Numan fan.    … Full Review »
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