Twenty-something years ago, Garbage arrived into the world a fully formed pop band. It bypassed those unsteady learning-the-ropes years and didn’t have any sloppy, awkward early releases to contend with. Helmed by powerhouse vocalist Shirley Manson and drummer/veteran super-producer Butch Vig, Garbage was an alternative nation star right out the gate.
This has led to an interesting process of deconstruction. After the hit factory of its self-titled 1996 debut and ubiquitous 1998 followup Version 2.0, Garbage has spent its ensuing career flirting with being unconventional. The band’s sixth LP works a moody, textural industrial undercurrent. “Sometimes” ushers us in with a haunting start-and-stop rhythm; “Blackout,” punctuated by processed vocals and angular guitar, recalls Garbage’s more aggressive ’90s cousin, Curve.
While Garbage seems most comfortable with unabashed electro-pop anthems (“Empty,” “We Never Tell”), more than half the album resides in slow-burn territory. Sometimes this falls flat: “Teaching Little Fingers To Play” is a bit hokey and clichéd. But on “If I Lost You,” the vibe connects massively: Serene loops and swift beats recall vintage Portishead, while Manson’s lyrical meditation on insecurity is stark, vulnerable and remarkably honest.
—John Vettese
