Garbage is an alternative industrial rock group from Madison, Wisconsin. Formed in 1994, they released their self-titled debut album in 1995. The band is as of 2005 on indefinite hiatus, but have stated that it is not a permanent breakup. The band also has a greatest hits/ b-side album and various long awaited DVDs that are gonna be released in the late 2006 to early 2007 time. The album became an instant success with it’s two hit singles
Vow and
Only Happy When It Rains. The album also contained other hit songs
Queer,
Stupid Girl, and
Milk.
Garbage eventually became the band’s ‘classic’ album, as more recent and less perfected albums
Version 2.0 and
Beautiful Garbage rolled around in later years. The band made a comeback with there latest (and hopefully not last release)
Bleed Like Me in 2005.
Supervixen kicks off the album with a heavy drum roll and some catchy, spazzy guitar riffs. Shirley Manson comes in with her soft yet somewhat haunting vocals that sound like a female version of Marilyn Manson meets Billy Corgan. The song is a great opener and is one of the songs for it’s great guitar riffs and haunting atmosphere over great vocals and a spazzy guitar solo near the end. By far the best of the overlooked songs on the album. The second track is one of the hit singles off the album,
Queer, which starts with a very ‘lounge room’ like bass and keyboard synths over some mellow vocals that give the song a very mellow yet dark feel. The lyrics to the song, as the song title suggests, are pretty funny, but are sung in such a dark, mellow way it’s hard to catch Shirley Manson’s witty humor. The song is not very dynamic, like the previous tracks, but gets better by the second half of the song when the industrial drums and guitar synths kick in. It’s rather hard to see why this song and not
Supervixen was a single off the track, considering it’s very mellow and does not deliver any real dynamics.
One of the first two singles off the album,
Only Happy When It Rains, follows
Queer with some light percussions followed by Shirley Manson’s dark singing. Some distorted guitar and bass grooves kick in and make a very moody, dark atmosphere. The vocals on the track are a lot better then the previous tracks, and the dynamics are very out there without breaking the song’s mellow flow. The random short guitar solos in the song also help increase the song’s pace as it progresses into a faster tempo speed. Another good track that is worth note off this album.
As Heaven Is Wide starts with some video game sounding synths followed by a rolling drum line and some dark, ambiance that reminds me too much of Marilyn Manson’s older work. The singing fits well with the dark, industrial atmosphere of the song, which constantly delivers a very gothic sound that makes any listener by this point realize the pretty pink album cover is a joke to hide the band’s dark and gothic sound. The song has some good music and interesting dynamics with aura bells and synthesizers, bur doesn’t match up to the last couple of songs.
With some catchy, more light hearted guitar riffs kick off the next song,
Not My Idea, the listener is relieved of dark, haunting industrial sounds for awhile. The song has some of the best singing on the album, and the guitar riffs give it a very catchy tune (especially when the synths kick in). The song has a slightly more poppy tune, but still rocks rather hard compared to the other songs on the album, and is overall one of the est songs on the album.
A Stroke Of Luck comes in with some really weird samples and some very dark keyboard ambiance followed by more haunting vocals. The song has a lot more dynamics and more active singing in it then the other, dark, slow and atmospheric songs on the album. The track doesn’t have much to deliver aside from a powerful chorus and slow, dark atmospheres, but still ranks one of the best tracks on the album.
The first hit single off the album,
Vow, starts with some warped guitar sounds by some chanting vocals from Shirley Manson that suddenly burst into a heavy, dark, poppy sound that is very catchy and dynamic. The first single off the album that I can truly say deserves it’s status. The song has a good, even flow and is very straightforward catchiness. The exotic tunes near the half way mark give the song an interesting flavor when compared to the other songs. Overall, another good track to this near classic album. A few steady drum beats and some poppy like synths starts off
Stupid Girl. The song is another good, humorous track that has a very dark and haunting feel to it. Another straightforward track with a good, haunting flow to it. The atmosphere created in the chorus of this song is amazing, and the guitar work is worth giving note too.
Dog New Tricks is by far the heaviest song on the album. The opening synths and guitars are rather brutally distorted for the album, and the singing is a tad bit harsher then usual. The song still contains it’s poppy, cathy chorus and some great guitar grooves, but the overly distorted synths and bass really starts to get annoying after the first chorus. Not much else to say with the track other then it would be a great track if it wasn’t for the distortion.
My Lover’s Box is a lot like the first track on the album, with soft drum lines and spazzy guitar work. The songs overall flow is a lot slower then
Supervixen, but still contains some great chorus dynamics. The songs flow isn’t very evened out in the mix, and just doesn’t have the poppy catchiness that drives a lot of the songs on the album. The guitar work is rather nice on the track though.
Fix Me Now is somewhat of a mess, and the song title is appropriate, this song just cries out to be better. The vocals are some what warped by the weird percussions used in throughout the track. The song flow is all messed up and the atmosphere is rather warped itself. The only good thing about the track is the constant catchy guitar riffs that come in and out throughout the song. The last track on the album,
Milk, is a straightforward industrial ballad like song. It’s very soft and calm yet dark and ambient sounding. The vocals are brilliant on the track, being very soft yet have a strong presence. There is not too much that goes on in the song, but the chorus gives the song a powerful atmospheric feel, and is overall another one of the perfect songs on the album.
Pros
-- Great vocals and use of synths.
-- Very strong atmospheres and song flow.
-- A lot of the guitar work was very catchy and well done.
-- Great (and sometimes humorous) lyrics.
Cons
-- Some songs are rather repetitive.
--
Fix Me Now ruins the album flow a good bit.
Track Listing
1. Supervixen (5/5)
2. Queer (4/5)
3. Only Happy When It Rains (4.5/5)
4. As Heaven Is Wide (4/5)
5. Not My Idea (4.5/5)
6. A Stroke Of Luck (4.5/5)
7. Vow (5/5)
8. Stupid Girl (4.5/5)
9. Dog New Tricks (4/5)
10. My Lover’s Box (4/5)
11. Fix Me Now (2.5/5)
12. Milk (5/5)
