Garbage
Version 2.0

THE REVIEW

The sound of Garbage (once) was synonymous with absolute irresistibility, both for the radio-friendly audience and for some orphans of early '90s rock bands.
Their success is mainly due to the skill of the members, established producers (...) who arrive at a sound balancing between dance, trip hop, and the noise rock of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth. But the irresistible element, surely, is none other than the singer Shirley Manson, a voice as fine and delicate as it is harsh and visceral, in the service of a wild riot grrrl.

After singles like Queer and Only Happy When It Rains, the first album (Garbage - 1996) is established as a best-seller. Version 2.0 continues, by and large, the style of the previous work, but the resulting tracks are much more complex -and "crafted"- than in the past. With no fewer than five singles released, the album manages to confirm the sales of the first album, despite much of the criticism that panned this record. Certainly, the lyrics still denote a notable simplicity and immaturity, but Shirley Manson embodies in full the role of a "burned out" teenager with all her stories, her multiple "experiences." It's this duality of performer and savvy icon that is her strongest characteristic, thanks to which Garbage manage to establish themselves. Temptation Waits, without Manson's sensuality, would be an anonymous track from any shoegaze band. The psychodramas of I Think I'm Paranoid and Special, two perfect singles, could be the most representative -and the best- tracks of Garbage's entire career.

A significant record for those who want to observe the evolution of the pop-rock song form in the nineties.