Last year, The Rock Critic reviewed Garbage’s latest LP, and he said that it was a very good album, but not quite his cup of tea. Garbage’s brand of alt-rock was never up his alley, at least in large doses. I’ve been curious about listening to this band, and I almost picked up Strange Little Birds, but I never did. My local Shopko has it for a decent price, as well as Best Buy, and I could get it at FYE, even though it’s a bit pricier. I’ve been in the mood for some 90s alt-rock, coincidentally, because I picked up a few albums in that vein at Goodwill and Shopko up north, when I went on vacation last week, so I decided to look for a bit more. I already reviewed two of the three albums that I got at FYE when I came back. I reviewed The Offspring’s sophomore album, 1992’s Ignition, I reviewed Faith No More’s first album with their current vocalist, 1989’s The Real Thing (that’s not quite a 90s album, but this band was around in the 90s, so I count it), and the last one that I needed to review was the 1995 self-titled debut album Garbage. This album is just a couple of years younger than me, as well as being just a bit older than my girlfriend, which is really weird to think about. Am I the only person that thinks of albums in that sense? Yes? Okay, well, moving on then. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this band, but when I was doing some research, I found out something kind of cool – they’re from my state, Wisconsin, so that’s why I’ve been able to find their new album everywhere. It would be weird not to have their new album in their home state. I’ve been thinking about picking up Strange Little Birds, but when I saw their debut album for much cheaper at FYE, I thought I’d take a look at that first. Truth be told, I really like it. It’s probably my favorite out of the three albums that I picked up earlier this week, but it’s not the most unique album, especially in retrospect.
Garbage is a very good band, though, and that’s kind of unfortunate, because I could easily make a “ha, this band is garbage, and that’s their name” joke, but they’re actually pretty damn good. I like their brand of alt-rock meets power-pop, despite how consistent it is. Right off the bat, there’s my biggest issue with the album, and it’s kind of the opposite of what I talked about with Faith No More’s The Real Thing. That album was a bit long, because it was a bit too diverse and unique for its own good, whereas this one is too consistent and “samey” for its own good. I love their sound, and I don’t mind listening to an album of this, but this LP is about 51 minutes long. It’s a bit lengthy, especially for an alt-rock album, and because it’s too “samey,” this album wears on me after awhile. Not to mention, I don’t know if I like vocalist Shirley Manson that much; I can understand why The Rock Critic prefers this band in shorter doses, because it’s too samey, as well as that Manson’s voice isn’t all that amazing. While I’ve been listening to this album, I have the general idea that this band is one that people like or they don’t, because their sound feels oddly niche. I mean, it’s pretty good alt-rock, but I feel like that some people might not be able to get into them. With all of that said, though, this album is good, don’t get me wrong. There are some catchy hooks, and some interesting lyrics, but Manson’s voice isn’t anything terribly great, and the sound is very consistent, ultimately to the point of wearing on me after awhile, but the album’s fine. Maybe their later work is better, and I could imagine it probably would be, but I might have to listen to their new album, just to see what it’s all about, because this LP gave me a good first impression, even if I don’t love it.
