Garbage's debut album was released in the US on 15 August 1995.
Butch Vig had started Smart Studios with Steve Marker in 1983, where they recorded a number of bands, including Killdozer, Nirvana, and Soul Asylum. In 1994, they were joined by Duke Erikson and began producing remixes for bands such as Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and U2, which inspired them to form a band with a "remix sensibility."
Dissatisfied with his own vocals, Vig wanted to have a female lead singer, and after Marker spotted an Angelfish video on MTV, they contacted the group's lead singer, Shirley Manson.
Working piecemeal on songs (interrupted by Vig's production jobs), and spending time reworking elements of songs, with Manson writing and rewriting much of the lyrics, it took almost a year to record the album.
The self-titled album was met with critical acclaim and entered the Billboard chart in September (at #193) before peaking at #20 in August 1996 (released in October in the UK, it debuted at #12, peaking at #6). It would go on to sell more than 4 million copies and was ranked #71 on The Guardian's list of the best albums of all time.
