It's pretty risky for a band to choose a name like
"Garbage." It leaves them open to easy
pot shots from journalists and critics who can't
resist making cheap puns like "Garbage
stinks!" or "It's time to take this trash out!" But
if the band is well-received, then of
course none of this matters. The press then writes
cutesy things like "Garbage knows the
sweet smell of success" or "Anything but Garbage in
this pail." Luckily for the band, they
were well-received when their self-titled debut album
hit the streets, and they were
spared the bad puns, just not the cute ones.
Beyond being well-received, Garbage's first album
made a giant splash in '95, and frontwoman Shirley
Manson, the
rock-sexy, red-headed Scot, became a bit of a media
darling, though thankfully without reaching that
critical
too-much-of-a-good-thing over-saturation point that
can taint even the most talented artists.
However, I have a confession to make. I was not one
of those in a tizzy about Garbage's debut. I thought
they were good, but
just not... great. Most of their songs lacked that
extra dimension that makes music truly extraordinary.
I attributed the majority of
their big success to the legitimate vixenish appeal
and velour voice of Shirley Manson. Regardless, many
were left to speculate
about where this "forward-thinking" band, as they
were called by some, would go next. The members of
Garbage were
definitely feeling the pressure of this expectation.
Well, you can all relax (Garbage included), because
their highly- anticipated sophomore effort, Version
2.0, is better than their
debut. What was merely good is now bordering on
great. Where their debut was a feet-wetting freshman
outing, their second
record is more powerful. It is more complex. It has
more depth and musical sophistication. It is exactly
what a second version
should be: an improvement upon the first without
being a complete departure. Each track on 2.0 shifts
and wends and rocks.
These are big songs with no shortage of beats and
grooves; tunes that are larger-than-life toe tappers
("When I Grow Up"), hip
shakers ("Dumb"), and head boppers ("Sleep
Together"). Garbage has grown up. Their sound has
matured into genuine oomph.
Take the first track, "Temptation Waits." It's a
rock/disco anthem about obsessive love. It begins
with Manson singing to a light
dance beat: "I'll tell you something/I may be a wolf
but/I like to wear sheep's clothing." The song then
escalates to the next level
with guitar and keyboards, and then it builds again
to a soaring refrain, but it doesn't stop there.
Continuous changing
movements make it not only good, but also
interesting. "Temptation Waits" is in itself a wolf
in sheep's clothing. It comes on
subdued at first, but opens up into a memorable,
downright danceable, single-bound song.
This type of complexity appears on the entire record,
with songs like the smooth-yet-energetic-rocky "I
Think I'm Paranoid,"
"Push It" (with its Brian
Wilson-borrowed-with-permission silky refrain, "Don't
worry baby"), and "Wicked Ways." "The Trick Is
to Keep Breathing" and "You Look So Fine" run neck
and neck for the title of most ambient, as well as
prettiest song on the
record.
Garbage's Version 2.0 snaps, pops, and rocks. Don't
wait to download.