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Intruder (album)

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Intruder
Studio album by
Released21 May 2021
Recorded2020–2021
Genre
Length54:52
Label
ProducerAde Fenton
Gary Numan chronology
Savage (Songs from a Broken World)
(2017)
Intruder
(2021)

Intruder is the nineteenth studio album by English musician Gary Numan, released on 21 May 2021 by BMG and The End. It entered UK Albums Chart at number two, on 28 May 2021.[2]

Album concept

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Intruder is a concept album with an apocalyptic theme, and the point of view of an anthropomorphised Earth's anger towards its human inhabitants due to environmental degradation.[3] “The planet sees us as its children now grown into callous selfishness, with a total disregard for its wellbeing, it feels betrayed, hurt, and ravaged. Disillusioned and heartbroken it is now fighting back." Numan explained in an interview.[4] "Essentially, it considers humankind to be a virus attacking the planet. Climate change is the undeniable sign of the Earth saying enough is enough, and finally doing what it needs to do to get rid of us, and explaining why it feels it has to do it.”[4] Numan stated that "The idea behind the album actually came from a poem called “Earth” that my youngest daughter Echo wrote. She wrote the poem about the planet being upset, and why it was upset".[5] The original poem is included inside the sleeve of the vinyl edition of the album.[6]

Critical reception

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Intruder received an overall score of 77/100 from 8 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7] One reviewer called Intruder "one of the finest albums of his career",[8] NME describing the album as "fresh and ambitious" and "thrillingly relevant",[9] and another citing it as one of Numan's "most interesting albums".[10] Paste magazine said "the bracing new climate-change-conscious Intruder—is sketching clear charcoal renderings of the charnel house that awaits us".[5] Songwriter Universe said the album is "an ambitious, compelling collection of songs with a unifying theme".[11] Riff Magazine said the album is "a science fiction soundtrack about the impending climate catastrophe that doesn't need a movie to get its urgent point across."[12] A number of the reviewers noted that Intruder was a sequel to his previous album both musically (with a similar blending of synthesizer-heavy Industrial rock with elements of middle eastern music, (the latter notably including contributions by Gorkem Sen playing the Yaybahar[13])), and also by theme, which is a "complementary narrative" to Savage (Songs from a Broken World).[8]

Intruder entered the UK album chart at number two, on 28 May 2021,[2] but it dropped to number sixty-three the following week[14] and dropped off the chart after that.[15]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Gary Numan, except "A Black Sun" written by Gary Numan/Persia Numan. On 27 May 2021 an exclusive 'Alt Mix' of Saints and Liars was made available from the official store to people who had preordered the digital version of that album. This version clocks in at 4:44

Intruder track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Betrayed"4:43
2."The Gift"6:07
3."I Am Screaming"3:53
4."Intruder"4:24
5."Is This World Not Enough"5:25
6."A Black Sun"5:40
7."The Chosen"4:44
8."And It Breaks Me Again"4:46
9."Saints and Liars"4:01
10."Now and Forever"5:57
11."The End of Dragons"5:12
Total length:54:52
Deluxe edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."When You Fall"5:12
Total length:60:04
Vinyl edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."When You Fall"5:12
13."The End of Dragons" (Alt)4:58
Total length:65:02
Digital release bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Saints and Liars (Alt Mix)"4:44

Personnel

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  • Gary Numan – vocals, keyboards
  • Ade Fenton – keyboards, programming, mixing, production
  • Steve Harris – guitars
  • Tim Slade – bass
  • Gorkem Sen – strings (Yaybahar)
  • Gazelle Twin – backing vocals
  • Persia Numan – backing vocals
  • Raven Numan – backing vocals
  • Nathan Boddy – mixing
  • Matt Colton – mastering

Charts

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Chart performance for Intruder
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 78
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 63
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 100
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 60
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 56
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 15
Irish Albums (IRMA)[22] 15
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 33
UK Albums (OCC)[2] 2
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[25] 1

References

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  1. ^ a b Solomon, Kate (20 May 2021). "Gary Numan, Intruder, review: A crunching, angry lecture about the climate emergency". iNews. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  3. ^ "The Quietus | Reviews | Gary Numan". The Quietus. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b Louder (12 January 2021). "Watch Gary Numan roleplay as an angry, hostile planet Earth in dramatic video for Intruder". loudersound. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  5. ^ a b Lanham, Tom (21 May 2021). "Gary Numan Is Right at Home in Dystopia". Paste. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  6. ^ "In Conversation: Gary Numan Embodies an Angry and Disillusioned Planet Earth on "Intruder"". FLOOD. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  7. ^ Intruder by Gary Numan, retrieved 24 April 2022
  8. ^ a b Lewis, Canis (11 May 2021). "Album review: Gary Numan - Intruder". Elektro Vox. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Gary Numan 'Intruder' review – doomsday bangers from the master of survival". NME. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  10. ^ Curley, John. ""Intruder" is one of Gary Numan's most interesting albums". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  11. ^ Kawashima, Dale (19 May 2021). "Electronic Pop Legend Gary Numan Talks About His New Album, Intruder, His Classic Hit "Cars," And His Songwriting". songwriteruniverse.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  12. ^ Gill, David (18 May 2021). "ALBUM REVIEW: Gary Numan offers cinematic warning on 'Intruder'". riffmagazine.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  13. ^ "The Quietus | Features | A Quietus Interview | A Brutal Harmony: Gary Numan & Ade Fenton Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100 (4 June 2021)". Official Charts Company. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100 (11 June 2021)". Official Charts Company. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  16. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 31 May 2021". The ARIA Report. No. 1630. Australian Recording Industry Association. 31 May 2021. p. 6.
  17. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Gary Numan – Intruder" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – Gary Numan – Intruder" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – Gary Numan – Intruder" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Gary Numan – Intruder" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Gary Numan – Intruder" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  22. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Gary Numan". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Gary Numan – Intruder". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 June 2021.