Review Summary: A great debut dragged down by a few sore spots.
In the wake of
Nine Inch Nails' breakthrough success with
The Downward Spiral in 1994, many other bands raced to follow in their footsteps. Some diluted the raw, aggressive nature of industrial rock for a bigger chance at mainstream superstardom. Some stuck by their guns and met success as well.
One of these was Garbage (who have sadly lived up to their once-ironic moniker in recent years). They can be best described as what results once you smash NIN,
My Bloody Valentine, British trip-hop (
Massive Attack,
Portishead,
Tricky) and grunge together, with an added sense of melody and pop songwriting.
The album overall
Garbage contains the seeds of the immense, wall-of-sound production style that the band would perfect on
Version 2.0. It's all over the place musically, taking cues from alternative rock, industrial rock, trip-hop, electronic music and pop. The result is an impressive debut, loaded with great alt-rock songs distinguished by their more melodic edge. The only problem with the album is that their extreme specialization results in the songs sounding the same towards the end (too many rehash the technique of "trip-hop verse + rock refrain") and a loss of momentum.
The songs
Supervixen is the opening salvo on the album, beginning with a 1-2-3-4 drumfill and launching into a heavy guitar riff augmented by synth, strongly reminiscent of "Only Shallow" by MBV. The oddest thing about this song is that it stops for a second every second measure. A less odd thing is that it uses the time-tested alt-rock formula of "quiet verse-loud chorus". The verses are more atmospheric, employing reversed guitar. Shirley Manson sings in an almost taunting, harsh manner, matching the lyrical content that attempts to compare her to the second coming... or something. A strong start to the album, almost tempting the listener to follow the "Bow down to me" command in the lyrics.
Queer is a total 180 from "Supervixen"'s introductory anger, a trip-hop song with a strong sense of groove. The almost celebratory edge put forward by the nifty guitar riffs, brass samples and drum loops is blunted by the distorted synths which linger in the background of the verses only to crash head-on into the refrain. Basically this is like
Mezzanine-era
Massive Attack and
Portishead got high together and made a song. At the two-minute mark there is a sudden appearance of distorted guitars playing a highly dissonant riff, which then launch into an even more paranoid reprise of the chorus. Lyrically "Queer" leaves some space for free will, more concerned with persuasion than domination. Overall the song is a great demonstration of Garbage's ability to create more electronic-oriented music.
Only Happy When It Rains is the requisite "massive hit from 1995 that everybody remembers" with a memorable fuzz-guitar riff doubled by acoustic guitar and a great sonic construction. Typical alt-rock? No, it breaks from that in two respects: the song is unrelentingly loud (no quiet verses here), and Shirley's lyrics are more of a sarcastic mockery of 90s teen angst than an affirmation of it. The song spends 4 minutes finding new ways to twist around the basic chord progression and piling various guitar overdubs on top of each other (which was parodied in the video. I swear I thought they had recorded ten versions of "Bohemian Rhapsody"). A highlight.
As Heaven is Wide begins with a techno drum loop and introduces a bleak, strident guitar riff. Frankly it sounds like an outtake from some video game soundtrack with vocals pasted on top. Of course the song has a great arrangement and really great riffs, but it's all on the surface. The lyrics here veer towards the clichéd "my-boyfriend-betrayed-me-now-I-want-revenge" type. An average track but a real drag on the album's momentum.
Not My Idea. Oh, an apology for the previous less-than-stellar outing? Somewhat. Opening with the refrain which consists of a killer two-note riff and industrial drum loops, it does pick up some of the impetus "Heaven" lost. Despite the "This is not my idea of a good time" refrain which sounds a bit whiney and laughable. The verses use a different, more tuneless melody and a descending chord progression. Overall... er, a barely above average track.
A Stroke of Luck. Yes indeed, you've finally made another good track. This trip-hop oriented song slows down the pace and employs some eerie atmospheric keyboards over a harder drum loop. As we've come to expect, a bleak guitar melody is deployed for the chorus, and the overall arrangement is excellent. Here, Manson makes a change of pace from the "bad girl" posturing found earlier, instead relating about a happier event in her romantic life, but still voicing some doubts. Despite how that sounds on paper, the lyrics and music work well together, even though the lyrics might read as optimistic but the song as a whole is bleak and depressing.
Vow does not continue the vulnerability and openness exposed earlier, instead reverting to empty threats and promises about "tear[ing] your little world apart". It also includes the line "You crucified me but I'm back in your bed/Like Jesus Christ coming from the dead", which confirms that Shirley is, in fact, Jesus. Sarcasm aside, the track is great. It makes good use of tremolo for the main guitar riff, its drums are way harder than anything else heard so far, the two-note high pitched melody in the refrain is a nice touch, the breakdown shows our heroes have listened to a lot of NIN... Another highlight, this time more industrial-edged. Well, hopefully someone else can actually take the lyrics seriously or get past them. Okay, Shirley, I get it, you're a Sex Goddess who nobody can resist. Sheesh. I'm thankful that they didn't follow their initial idea of covering "Bad" for the album, just in case "anyone missed the point".
Stupid Girl. Okay, hands up whoever recognizes the introductory drum loop. That's correct, it's a sample from "Train In Vain", one of the best
The Clash tracks, which the boys manage to integrate well into the staticky intro. The song comes as a respite from the aggressive tendencies of "Vow", being more atmospheric. The refrain consists of a simple three-note guitar melody (with the obligatory distorted overdubs), some spacey keyboards and the drum loop. Irony, the lyrics here still sound topical and authentic, even though it's unclear if they refer to any person in particular ("Don't believe in love" could very well apply to the singer). Two peaks in a row for the album.
Dog New Tricks sounds almost like a retread of "As Heaven is Wide". Sadly, the former is just as average as the latter. The riff is not all that memorable, the super-polished production employed blunts the song's bleak atmosphere, and the lyrics once again haven't held up over time, sounding clichéd now ("Everyone lies/Everyone cheats/Not like you've done" You don't say...) Another blow to the album's impetus.
My Lover's Box. Is this a reference to
In Utero or something? Whatever. This is yet another slower, more melodic, more melancholic rock song, making up for the previous less-than-stellar outing. Don't be fooled by reading the lyric sheet; when it comes to Garbage, "happy" equals "slightly less than depressing musical arrangement and a slightly different delivery" (See also:
Radiohead). Which is exactly what we get here. The verses are trip-hop based, only to blow up into a industrial rock chorus. Both employ a not-so-bleak chord progression, and the refrain here is one of the strongest to be found on the whole album.
Warning: the loud phasing that occurs at 3:08 is bound to wreck your ears, and is a horrible misstep. Overall the track comes off as more affecting (especially through the instrumental bridge at the 2-minute mark) and authentic (thank God for the change of gears from "bad girl posturing" to "honesty").
Fix Me Now begins with a filtered, distorted drum loop, and introduces a slightly blues-oriented guitar riff. And remember the problem of specialization I mentioned earlier? This song is handicapped severely by it. Same old trip-hop verse, same old refrain with distorted guitars, even if the latter employs somewhat less bleak and dreary chords. As if that wasn't enough, the lyrics stick out like a sore thumb, being all whiny, clichéd and grating ("Fix me now/I wish you would/Bring me back to life"). The worst dud on the album.
Milk starts off the future Garbage tradition of slow, slightly grandiose album closers that sound like they could have been written by
Portishead. It's an entirely trip-hop based track, no rock leanings here. It relies mostly on a relaxing, not somber flute melody and more spacey keyboards, adding a string section in the chorus. The lyrics might not make sense at first ("I am milk/I am red hot kitchen"?! What're you smoking?), but they continue the "honest, vulnerable" mode. Finally, we have a more-than-welcome breath of fresh air after the oppressive joylessness the second half of this album offers. Overall this is a strong, airy, emotional end to the album. Garbage would go on to retread this song for future album closers ("You Look so Fine", "So like a Rose" - all successfully), and their James Bond theme song (...less successful).
Garbage was also released with several bonus tracks, depending if you lived in Japan (why do all albums have a Japanese bonus track? What's wrong with other parts of the world?!) or Korea. Out of all these, the only one that's vital to own is "#1 Crush".
Recommendations: "Supervixen", "Queer", "Only Happy When It Rains", "Vow", "Stupid Girl", "My Lover's Box", "Milk".
