Garbage - Beautifulgarbage

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With Garbage’s last release, Garbage Version 2.0, front woman Shirley Manson vowed, "When I grow up I'll be stable." If that’s the case she certainly hasn't grown up on Beautifulgarbage, which is the band's most unsettled album so far. Beautifulgarbage finds band mates/co-producers Butch Vig, Steve Marker, Duke Erikson, and diva supreme Shirley Manson eschewing, for the most part, the band's radio-friendly blend of melodic electro-pop, cynical lyrics, and Shirley Manson's vixen-like vocals for a more straight-up rock' n 'pop foundation with a '60s girl-group obsession.

"Shut Your Mouth" sets the album in motion, the track doesn’t hint at the sporadic changes the listener is in with the rest of the album. It’s and electronic tinged rocker, which stops, starts, and stutters along as Manson takes aim at pop divas with her chronic smirk, in other words same old Garbage.

"Androgyny", the lead off single, offers the same synthesized sound effects and tough, catchy lyrics with which the band has come to be identified. "Can’t Cry These Tears" Manson croons about trying to get over an ex lover while being backed by a '60s-style back-up girls and chiming bells.

Manson and the band switch personas quickly with the rocker "Til The Day that I Die" which accomplishes nothing but annoyance. Luckily the band goes back to the slower dynamic with "Cup of Coffee." Backed by a weeping string section Manson laments being dumped over a cup of coffee then becoming obsessed with everything about her ex: "I smoke your brand of cigarettes/And pray that you might give me a call/I lie around in bed all day just staring at the walls/Hanging round bars at night wishing I had never been born."

"Silence Is Golden" details the interior monologue of a victim of sexual abuse; as Manson wails and shrieks, "Something was stolen, I have been broken," with the rawness of PJ Harvey. "Cherry Lips (go baby go)" stands in sharp contrast from the previous track with it’s funky 80’s new wave-ish beat and marks a return of the chiming wedding bells as a backing instrument. "Breaking Up the Girl" is an average song with a catchy chorus and little else. "Drive You Home," "Nobody Loves You," and "So Like a Rose" are good mid-tempo ballads that show the band isn’t afraid to settle things down and show some emotion other than bitterness. The anthemic rocker "Parade" is lyrically nimble, with Manson questioning all those cookie-cutter wannabes prevalent in today‘s world.

Beautifulgarbage is an interesting step for a band that had already built a solid fan base, garnered tons of radio-airplay, and gotten three GRAMMY nominations with it‘s unique blend of electronic-alterna pop. With soft ballads, the occasional uplifting lyric, and a tambourine the band has taken a wrecking ball to that image and delivered no one’s idea of a typical Garbage album. Whether there fans stick with the band through this growing period will probably determine how long the band sticks with finding a "new image."


	Steamer Trunk \| home stuff about me \| album reviews \| PS2 game reviews \| pictures \| web watch \| getting in touch Rilo Kiley - Take Offs and Landings \| Slipknot - Iowa \| Ozma - Rock and Roll Part Three \| Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs \| Lit - Atomic \| Garbage - Beautifulgarbage \| The Strokes - Is This It \| Live - V \| Tori Amos - Strange Little Girls \| Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American \| Blink 182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket \| Weezer - The Green Album \| Alkaline Trio From Here to Infirmary \| Alkaline Trio - Hell Yes \| American Hi-Fi \| Our Lady Peace - Spiritual Machines \| Aerosmith - Just Push Play \| Dave Matthews Band - Everyday \| Blue Meanies - Post Wave \| Weston - The Massed Albert Sounds \| U2 - All That You Cant Leave Behind \| Green Day - Warning \| Offspring - Conspiracy of One \| Everclear - Songs from an American Movie Vol. 2 \| Radiohead - Kid A \| Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water \| Smashing Pumkins - Machina II \| Superdrag - In The Valley Of Dying Stars \| Voodoo Music Festival Garbage - Beautifulgarbage With Garbage’s last release, Garbage Version 2.0, front woman Shirley Manson vowed, "When I grow up I'll be stable." If that’s the case she certainly hasn't grown up on Beautifulgarbage, which is the band's most unsettled album so far. Beautifulgarbage finds band mates/co-producers Butch Vig, Steve Marker, Duke Erikson, and diva supreme Shirley Manson eschewing, for the most part, the band's radio-friendly blend of melodic electro-pop, cynical lyrics, and Shirley Manson's vixen-like vocals for a more straight-up rock' n 'pop foundation with a '60s girl-group obsession. "Shut Your Mouth" sets the album in motion, the track doesn’t hint at the sporadic changes the listener is in with the rest of the album. It’s and electronic tinged rocker, which stops, starts, and stutters along as Manson takes aim at pop divas with her chronic smirk, in other words same old Garbage. "Androgyny", the lead off single, offers the same synthesized sound effects and tough, catchy lyrics with which the band has come to be identified. "Can’t Cry These Tears" Manson croons about trying to get over an ex lover while being backed by a '60s-style back-up girls and chiming bells. Manson and the band switch personas quickly with the rocker "Til The Day that I Die" which accomplishes nothing but annoyance. Luckily the band goes back to the slower dynamic with "Cup of Coffee." Backed by a weeping string section Manson laments being dumped over a cup of coffee then becoming obsessed with everything about her ex: "I smoke your brand of cigarettes/And pray that you might give me a call/I lie around in bed all day just staring at the walls/Hanging round bars at night wishing I had never been born." "Silence Is Golden" details the interior monologue of a victim of sexual abuse; as Manson wails and shrieks, "Something was stolen, I have been broken," with the rawness of PJ Harvey. "Cherry Lips (go baby go)" stands in sharp contrast from the previous track with it’s funky 80’s new wave-ish beat and marks a return of the chiming wedding bells as a backing instrument. "Breaking Up the Girl" is an average song with a catchy chorus and little else. "Drive You Home," "Nobody Loves You," and "So Like a Rose" are good mid-tempo ballads that show the band isn’t afraid to settle things down and show some emotion other than bitterness. The anthemic rocker "Parade" is lyrically nimble, with Manson questioning all those cookie-cutter wannabes prevalent in today‘s world. Beautifulgarbage is an interesting step for a band that had already built a solid fan base, garnered tons of radio-airplay, and gotten three GRAMMY nominations with it‘s unique blend of electronic-alterna pop. With soft ballads, the occasional uplifting lyric, and a tambourine the band has taken a wrecking ball to that image and delivered no one’s idea of a typical Garbage album. Whether there fans stick with the band through this growing period will probably determine how long the band sticks with finding a "new image."