When I think 90s music, I think Garbage, the original four-piece line up with icon Shirley Manson on lead vocals and guitar, Steve Marker on guitar and keyboard, Butch Vig on drums and percussion and Duke Erikson on Bass have released their eighth studio album, written and recorded while Manson was recovering from a hip replacement after an injury on stage in LA in 2016. They tackle the grief, sexism and surveillance that’s become rife in our modern age in typical Garbage ‘give a fuck?’ fashion, getting right up in your face to make sure you’re listening.
Manson’s echoing call ‘If you’re ready for love’ summons us to the start of the album. The track has a 1984, dystopian feel ‘the air is thick with helicopters.’ The driving guitar riffs give the sense of moving to mimic the lyrics and sets the scene for going against the grain ‘Did I disgrace myself, bring shame to the flock?’ The accompanying music video follows two lovers escaping the lights and cameras of the city to be free and together, a poster, seen below, highlights the Orwellian reality we face in current times.
‘Chinese Fire Horse’ is very much about Manson herself, having been born in 1966. The song highlights some of the backlash Manson has faced in the media for her age. ‘You say my time is over, that I have gotten old // I should retire.’ This track puts two fingers up and the double standard that women face as they age. The accompaniment starts with a clean, drum machine and a grungy guitar riffs and slides adds building drama that grows fuzzier before ending aptly with ‘I’m not dead, I’m not done’ they’re just getting started.
In contrast, ‘Hold’ is stripped down and more intimate ‘take down my hair, untie my shoes, undress me’ it’s the seductress of the album and although overall it still sounds very much electronic, the acoustic guitar sounds brought forward in the bridge creates a divide and clears the air from the fuzz and thrums of the album so far.
If ‘Hold’ is the seducer of the album, ‘Have We Met? (The Void)’ is the soap star, the drone of the synths creates a foreboding start that fades into the beating heart of the drums, reflecting the anger that the theme of betrayal evokes. The story tells of a Spanish lover who has been cheating on her and now the other woman is ‘at my door // calling me a whore.’ The use biting, monosyllabic lyrics ‘Whore // fuck // spit’ act like venomous jabs that paint a picture of this confrontation as Manson asks the question no one really wants the answer to – ‘have you motherfuckers been seeing each other?’
‘Sisyphus’ uses the Greek Myth of the king who cheated death twice and was punished by Zeus, making him roll a boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down before reaching the top for eternity as a metaphor for determination ‘on and on and on and on.’ It’s a song of strength no matter who you are. ‘This little body of mine is gonna make things right // saint of queer // trans and black skin.’ It could easily become part of the soundtrack for the rebellion, closing with a distorted snippet of ‘Oh When the Saints Go Marching In.’ ‘Radical’ mirrors this but with a more authentic 90’s Garbage sound, its reminiscent of ‘Not Your Kind of People’, opening with swampy guitar riffs and Manson’s distorted voice seem to reverberate forever.
The opening to ‘Love to Give’ reminds me of the intro to the Marilyn Manson song ‘SAY10’ go and have a listen and you’ll know what I mean. The repetitive mechanical sounds give a similar industrial air to track. The message in this track is clear – loving each other is the most powerful weapon we have against all the hate in the world. ‘I’ve got love to give // this is a cold, cruel world.’
The eighth track ‘Get Out My Face AKA Bad Kitty’ takes no shit, solidifying the themes of uprising and rebellion. The guitar stays heavily distorted but the overall mix feels cleaner, more like a traditional 4-piece band as its empty of the heavy synths used in the surrounding tracks. ‘R U Happy Now?’ continues the sense of sticking it to the man, highlighting real world issues ‘selling people // they hate your women, they rob your children and they love their guns.’ It sends a message to those in power that we aren’t blind to what they’re doing.
The closing track, ‘The Day I Met God’ was recorded in Manson’s own house during her recovery from surgery, distorted and haunting, it feels deeply personal ‘there I was, face to face with God, who was everyone I had ever loved.’ The guitar solo joined by falling strings is breath-taking as the song continues to ebb and pulse until it guides you smoothly to the end of your journey.
I couldn’t agree more that Garbage isn’t dead or done yet, this album wasn’t on my bingo card for 2025 but I think it’s exactly what the world needed, dripping in punk nostalgia, calling out not to give up on love in a world that feels full of hate.