"Bleed Like Me" is the fourth album by the band led by the charismatic Shirley Manson and producer Butch Vig (well-known for having produced "Nevermind" by "Nirvana", "Siamese Dream" and "Gish" by "Smashing Pumpkins", and also for having collaborated with bands like Sonic Youth, just to name a few). An album that almost remained unfinished, due to the vicissitudes that happened to the band: in fact, during the full swing of the "Beautifulgarbage tour", Butch Vig fell ill with hepatitis and was replaced, and later, Manson underwent surgery on her vocal cords, delaying the album's release initially scheduled for 2004, but postponed to 2005. There is a noticeable temporal gap from the usual three-year album-tour routine that Garbage had accustomed us to with their previous works.
"Bleed Like Me" is certainly an album that once again brought experimental innovation and, as always, will have taken fans by surprise. We are far from the dark and post-Curve origins (with whom they are always compared) of the self-titled debut album from '95, which earned them awards and recognition and over 4 million albums sold. We are also far from the electronic evolution of "Version 2.0" (also inspiring the Cardigans with their "Gran Turismo") and far from the trend change of "Beautifulgarbage" (their best work for commercial feedback but not critical).
No longer as young as in the past, with already exploited ideas, it seems difficult to propose something new and non-repetitive: yet Garbage still try, attempting to coexist the past and the present, while simultaneously innovating and continuing to experiment with a new sound. It's a pity that it cannot be said the result was fully achieved. The album presents itself as good, easy to listen to; the innocent little songs remain, which also receive good airplay, but there is also a noticeable lack of gems like those of the past with their easy-to-sing choruses turned into real anthems for fans of the genre (just think of "Queer", "Only Happy When It Rains", "I Think I'm Paranoid", "Push It", and ballads like "Milk" or "You Look So Fine" that cannot be compared to those present in this work).
The album opens as it has in the past with a strong and energetic piece: "Bad Boyfriend" very gritty, in perfect grunge style, thanks also to the skilled collaboration of Dave Grohl, still showing his drumming prowess; Manson whispers chills, at times seems to be angry and also excited for this "bad boy" of hers for whom she will reserve something special......
However, here comes the first blow or rather the first disappointment: "Run Baby Run": sparkling sound, very imposing, an uninspiring video that accompanies it, but a song for which Garbage will surely not be remembered. The same goes for "Right Between The Eyes", where the attempt to vigorously open the song aiming for a "punk rock" essence doesn't work at all, only to give us once again the usual verse-chorus explosive finale cliché.
On the positive side is "Why Do You Love Me" (also the first single for the album launch); good, yes, but not more than that. And here we come to the title track "Bleed Like Me", the usual melancholic ballad that along with "It's All Over But The Crying", leaves us a bit of bitterness and some hope in sad sounds without giving up on sampling (Garbage's great passion). The true and only gem is the industrial "Metal Heart": one that hides a build-up in the explosive and convincing finale, definitely worthy of being compared to pieces contained in "Version 2.0".
Unfortunately, if we exclude the crazy and vibrant "Sex Is Not The Enemy" and the unsettling ballad typical of every album closing "Happy Home", the rest sounds decidedly repetitive, and it seems like the end has truly come for this band that, after reaching the height of success and disappointing many fans with the previous work, doesn't seem to recover fully with this production. Those who have come to their music with their debut album will be disappointed by this work, a desperate attempt to continue with the origins; those who instead have come aboard with the previous album will find in "Bleed like me" songs undoubtedly poppy and carefree but will hardly appreciate it as before, because like it or not there will be neither a "Androgyny" nor a "Cherry Lips" to lose themselves on their rhythm.
In conclusion, the work is not to be entirely discarded, Garbage still knows how to give us some emotions, Manson’s voice still gives us chills and excites us; naturally, after ten years there is a need for innovation and to experiment with new sounds, but all things considered, they succeeded because they wisely learned from their past mistakes and crafted a work, certainly better than the previous one, that gives great hope for their return (whose timing is uncertain given the rest period they decided to take). Anyway, if Garbage should return (we're talking about a new album and not the Greatest Hits released in 2007), they would be well-received because they have represented a slice, albeit microscopic, among the many musical genres currently on the scene.
In conclusion, this album certainly deserves reevaluation, a good result, not without flaws, but it is at least worth listening to, even just to distract and get carried away in an electronic world, to be captured by the singer’s sensuality who, despite her not so youthful age, still fascinates and being surprised to notice so much energy in these forty-year-olds who still play with the same fervor as they used to.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Bad Boyfriend (03:45)
I've got a fever
Come check it and see
There's something burning and rolling in me
We may not last but we'll have fun till it ends
C'mon baby be my bad boyfriend
I wanna hear you call out my name
I wanna see you burn up in flames
Keep you on ice so I can show all my friends
C'mon baby be my bad boyfriend
So ripe so sweet come suck it and see
But watch out Daddy I sting like a bee
I know some tricks I swear will give you the bends
C'mon baby be my bad boyfriend
My fever's rising you ran into luck
Say what sugar
You wanna get what?
I'm wanna give you one hundred and ten
C'mon baby be my bad boyfriend
It's wild the way you tease me
It's wild the way you free me
It's wild the way you reach me
Wrapped me up in your wire from the start
You've got the women waiting in line
I'm not asking you to make up your mind
But I can make you happy at least now and then
I've got something special for my bad boyfriend
If you can't love me honey go on just pretend
I've saved something special for the very end
If you can't love me honey go on just pretend
C'mon baby be my bad boyfriend
03 Right Between the Eyes (03:55)
Don't care what they have to say
No point in listening to them anyway
Why do you have to give them what they want?
They love to watch you as you fall apart
Stick it to them like a phoenix rise
There's nothing grander than the big surprise
They can't hurt you with their sticks and stones
About time, take them right between the eyes
Seek to destroy cause they're scared of you
That's why they try to make a fool of you
They're so jealous of my pretty star
/Cause you've got soul inside your shattered heart
Stick it to them like a phoenix rise
There's nothing grander than the big surprise
They can't hurt you with their sticks and stones
About time, take them right between the eyes
And you've been waiting all your life
To fly high into somebody else
And it's true; it's a cruel, cruel world
Life's a bitch and then you die my love
Don't care what they have to say
You shouldn't listen to them anyway
Stick it to them like a phoenix rise
There's nothing grander than the big surprise
They can't hurt you with their sticks and stones
About time, take them right between the eyes
People like to build you up
Then they'll stab you in the back like that
You know it breaks my heart
Can't see you going out like that
Stay alive my love
Stay alive my love
Stay alive my love
Stay alive my love
05 Bleed Like Me (03:58)
Avalanche is sullen and too thin
She starves herself to rid herself of sin
And the kick is so divine when she sees bones beneath her skin
And she says:
Hey baby can you bleed like me?
C'mon baby can you bleed like me
Chris is all dressed up and acting coy
Painted like a brand new Christmas toy
He's trying to figure out if he's a girl or he's a boy
He says:
Hey baby can you bleed like me?
C'mon baby can you bleed like me
Doodle takes Dad's scissors to her skin
And when she does relief comes setting in
While she hides the scars she's making underneath her pretty clothes
She sings:
Hey baby can you bleed like me?
C'mon baby can you bleed like me
Therapy is speedie's brand new drug
Dancing with the devil's past has never been too fun
It's better off than trying to take a bullet from a gun
And she cries:
Hey baby can you bleed like me?
C'mon baby can you bleed like me
JT gets all fucked up in some karaoke bar
After two drinks he's a loser after three drinks he's a star
Getting all nostalgic as he sings “I Will Survive”
Hey baby can you bleed like me?
C'mon baby can you bleed like me
You should see my scars
You should see my scars
You should see my scars
You should see my scars
And try to comprehend that which you'll never comprehend
06 Metal Heart (03:58)
I wish I had a metal heart
I could cross the line
I wish I was half as good
As you think I am
Now that we know for sure
They're telling lies
When they say no one gets hurt and therefore nobody dies
You know it's hard to believe anything that you hear
They say the world is round
I wish I was as big as you
You'd have to tell the truth
I'd be nothing you could hurt
Nothing you could use
Now that we know for sure
They're telling lies
When they say no one gets hurt and therefore nobody dies
You know it's hard to believe anything that you hear
They say the world is round
The world is round
I want to be dependable
I want to be courageous and good
I want to be faithful so that I can be heroic and true
I want to be your friend you can rely on
You can lean on and trust
I want to understand so I can forgive
And be willing to love
I wish I wasn't flesh and blood
I would not be scared
Of bullets meant with me in mind
Then I could be saved
My sweet lord, take care of me for I think I'm done
Kiss my mother on her cheek and lay my burden down
Lay my burden down
Now that we know for sure
They're telling lies
When they say no one gets hurt and therefore nobody dies
You know it's hard to believe anything that you hear
They say the world is round
The world is round
The world is round
The world is round
09 Boys Wanna Fight (04:15)
The boys wanna fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
They know best how they can mess with us
Nursing an opinion's getting dangerous
And in a world where good's not good enough
Let's get loaded and kick up a fuss
The boys wanna fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
The boys wanna fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
Is there anybody else?
What a mess we've made
It's ridiculous
The whole wide world's a stage of complete chaos
It gets so funny that we get confused
We don't know where to turn cause we've all been used
The boys wanna fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
The boys wanna fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
Is there anybody else?
Let's get loaded (oh let's be selfish)
Let's get wasted (and lose our senses)
Let's get shit faced (so we can fake it)
Let's get stupid (just entertain us)
Let's get wicked (desensitize us)
Let's get toasted (don't educate us)
Let's get hammered (yeah paralyze us)
Let's forget it (don't count on all)
The boys wanna fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
The boys wanna fight
But the girls are happy to dance all night
I'm sick sick sick of doing nothing
Sick sick sick sick of saying nothing
I'm sick sick sick of doing nothing
I'm sick sick sick of saying nothing
So let's get loaded
The boys wanna fight
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Other reviews
By enryka
‘Bleed Like Me’ encapsulates the essence of humanity. Everyone deals with people who live, eat, drink, bleed, and die.
Despite the monotony surrounding the international music scene, Garbage has managed to stand out and emerge from the crowd.
By AR (Anonima Recensori)
The supergroup of producers with the seductive Shirley Manson on vocals whip out their claws and amp up the guitar sound.
We can define this album as a mythological figure: half masterpiece and half fake fool.