Review of Garbage's 'Garbage' Album: One of the Best Debut Albums

-

After experiencing my favorite concert at the beginning of this month, I vowed to go through Garbage’s discography and become even more familiar with the band. The concert showed me that they have much more to offer, and as I do with well-established groups and artists, I decided to go back to where it all started. This way, I can observe their growth, change, and artistry chronologically, just like the big fans usually do. I became a fan of this group way back, but I never explored their albums as thoroughly as I will in the next couple of weeks.

Starting with their self-titled album, released in 1995, which cemented the group as an astonishing and fresh alternative band that remains relevant to this day, is a pleasure for my ears. Many of the songs on this album are the reason why the band exists on my radar. "Supervixen" serves as a great intro track; immediately, I recognize the band's style. Everything sounds familiar, and I’ve heard that song before. Now, going through the melody and the lyrics, I find myself vibing more than ever to the beginning of this album. The five singles remain some of my favorite songs of all time.

Singles from Garbage:

  • "Vow" - Released: March 20, 1995
  • "Only Happy When It Rains" - Released: September 17, 1995
  • "Queer" - Released: November 20, 1995
  • "Stupid Girl" - Released: March 11, 1996
  • "Milk" - Released: October 7, 1996

I am still in shock that I had the pleasure of hearing almost every one of them at the concert in Köln this month. You can read more about the event and how well it went right here. "Queer" remains the one song I regret not hearing live. I even tried to find out why they chose not to play it. In these challenging times, this anthem for my community serves as a source of help and empowerment, reclaiming our own identity and rejecting the norms imposed upon us.

The lyrics of "Only Happy When It Rains" hit so hard. As a confused person, I always found myself being alone. Being alone allows me to deal with all the emotions I feel by revisiting them in a non-judgmental way. By allowing myself to feel the darkness, experience the pain and the sorrow, I come out cleaner and happier than ever. As a teenager, not knowing where I fit in or if I fit in anywhere, this song reminded me how valuable my experience is, no matter what anyone thinks of it.

Knowing that Garbage has a Scottish background, and having visited Scotland myself for the first time this year, seeing how religion has crept into every corner, I realize how normal it is for the band to have so many religious themes in their songs. "As Heaven Is Wide" expresses the wish to escape the burdens society imposes on you, confront what's wrong with it, and move beyond it.

"Not My Idea" continues the empowerment theme by acknowledging how easy it is to be overtaken by someone else's ideas and longings. Getting yourself together and pushing back against this darkness is a theme in many of the songs on this album.

The darker tones of the album continue with "A Stroke of Luck," another song carrying an uneasy melody and vocals mixed with the religious themes well-known to the band in 2024.

"Vow" and "Stupid Girl" are part of those five singles that I love. This album is one of the best debut albums that exist, with super strong content.

"Dog New Tricks" returns to the darker vision of the band, which spreads across several of the following songs. "My Lover's Box" is one of those, continuing the mix of religious themes and great vocals. Shirley Manson has such an incredible and distinctive voice. Hearing her two weeks ago, I have to say that her voice remains powerful, cutting, sarcastic, dark, yet full of positive personality and vibration. I love "My Lover's Box." It is so 90s and could easily belong on the 'Charmed' show. The lyrics are like a spell cast every time by anyone related to the song.

The outros of the band's songs are majestic. Garbage's creativity is off the charts. "Fix Me Now" is one of those songs that, by the end of it, you know you will listen to again. I can’t believe that Garbage was nominated for seven Grammys and never won. Who was the competition?

The end of the album 'Milk' remains as strong as the whole compilation of songs, making this debut record the masterpiece that it is to this day. There are a couple of more versions that include several other songs, the 25th remastered anniversary edition that includes many more songs to be explored and absorbed. I wish you all have a great time with the band as I do.

Garbage:

  • Shirley Manson – vocals, guitar
  • Steve Marker – guitars, bass, samples, loops
  • Duke Erikson – guitars, keyboards, six-string bass, fuzz bass
  • Butch Vig – drums, loops, noise, EFX
Iliya Badev

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Kate Bush's Album 'Before the Dawn'

-
Image
Ordering this vinyl was such an easy decision, but getting it turned into a process full of obstacles. I can’t help but go back to where I first heard Kate Bush – in an attic apartment in Sofia, Bulgaria, with one of my friends playing ‘Wuthering Heights’ and asking me how I wasn't aware of this artist. I felt ashamed, and although I've missed some of her important work over the years, I am catching up quickly. Skipping ahead a few more years, I met my best friend and partner in crime, who introduced me to her album ‘Aerial.’ One summer day we took a trip to Netherland where I heard her sound in Roermond's greatest park, which looks like it came from the mind of Tolkien. Everything about ‘Aerial’ is perfect. Absolutely coherent, the album flows like a stream of art and music. We have the CD, but after getting our gramophone, we realized that one of the albums we wanted in our newly born collection is the vinyl of ‘Aerial.’ I became more interested in Kate Bush's life, a
Read more

July Movie Pick: 'Deadpool & Wolverine' - The Best PR Movie I Have Ever Seen

-
Image
We all know that Marvel and Disney, in general, have been suffering losses because of their lack of quality releases in the past two years. Since 'Avengers: Endgame', Marvel has been trying to recreate the experience with less input, doing the brand a disservice. Even I, who became a huge fan around 'Captain America: Civil War', felt fatigue after a while. Even during this movie, I had some issues that I am going to write about in the spoiler section, but this movie went hard. It went hard on all the Marvel, or I should just say Disney, mistakes by twisting them in the most humorous way, making them fun. It was like I was in a psychiatric office, in hypnosis, reliving every traumatic memory after 'Endgame', while the psychiatric doctor, in this case, Deadpool, replaced the emotion I was feeling about them. Once, not that long ago, I saw this incredible PR move by RuPaul. In the current season of 'RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race', he played with the cont
Read more

Rant on 'Lessons in Chemistry' Apple TV+ Show

-
Image
The moment it began, I was thinking to myself, ‘Should I go down this rabbit hole?’ And I did because I really like Brie Larson. I have to say that even though I had some pretty revelations, and some parts were well-made, and of course, the actors were doing an incredible job, I dare to say that I will not watch it if I have the choice once again. This turned out to be a horrible idea. I am definitely not the desired audience for this show, and I am pretty sure for the book. Sometimes the pacing was bad, sometimes we were going back to the past for no reason, and the talking dog… spoilers ahead.  The first two episodes were very interesting, not from the beginning, but they had my attention. I felt their newborn love. I found it very fascinating that both of them were looking into the creation of mankind and different theories about it through the lens of science. I like that they were two outsiders who met each other at the right time. And kudos to the actors because in just 2 episode
Read more