Garbage – Bleed Like Me
(Almo Sounds/Geffen/Universal)

Poor Garbage. Back in the mid 90s they rightfully earned a huge following with their blend of grunge with an emerging wave of electronicamania. With the charismatic Shirley Manson as their frontwoman, they added a bit of glamour to counter Courtney Love’s self-indulgent trashiness. An additional asset was the work of superproducer/drummer Butch Vig, whose studio wizardry proelled Garbage to one of the top acts around, at least on rock radio, by 1998. With the context of what’s happened to electronica and alternative music since however, Garbage no longer sound so fresh. They tried to branch out a bit with “BeautifulGarbage”, and the experimentation was a good idea, however the album is a huge mess in the songwriting department, both lyrically and musically.

“Bleed Like Me” is an effort written amid huge band tension. Fans really wanted this album to be damn damn good, something to save rock radio with some killer singles that don�t sound like the Killers. And frankly, no one minds the presence of the still very hot Manson, who you�d never guess was pushing 40. Much has been made about this being a straightforward rock record, and for the most part it is, with flourishes of synths and strings scattered about along the way. The best songs on “Bleed”, like �Bad Boyfriend� featuring Dave Grohl on drums, the title track, and �Metal Heart� sound like they came off their debut. �Metal Heart� in particular is among the best songs they�ve ever created, carried by an extremely successful breakdown that shows how good a true Garbage Rock Album could be. The other songs, unfortunately, such as �Sex is Not the Enemy� sound like bad Elastica songs (which is most Elastica, if you ask me).

So then, the general consensus so far is that there is enough good material on “Bleed” to make a solid OMG GARBAGE RAWK EP. But even when you whittle down the disc to its best tracks, here comes a second problem: Version 2.0 era Garbage hasn’t aged well, surpassed by not only bigger better electronic acts like Basement Jaxx incorporating pop into their style, but by the invention of the mashup, which now regularly brings a pop hook to an indie rock fave. At the same time, the moments on “Bleed Like Me” that sound like early Garbage are a dime a dozen these days. Mainstream pop singers like Kelly Clarkson are now deciding to rock out – her “Since U Been Gone” single rocks harder and with more sincerity than anything on “Bleed Like Me”. And are Garbage capable of continuing to coast on Shirley’s image now that her Cool Rock Chick status has been handed over to Karen O and Brody Dalle in her absence? The evidence is overwhelming that Garbage are backed into a corner, directionless, and need something stronger than a catchy but extremely flawed single (ugh, that terrible bridge) than “Why Do You Love Me?” to survive in the current modern rock wasteland. — Goon

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