Garbage

This blew my expectations away. I only knew Only Happy When It Rains going in, and I don’t care for it. And honestly, the opening track was a snoozer. But goddamn, every other song. Just. Fucking. SLAPPED. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard alt rock blend genres like trip hop and industrial so masterfully into their sound. The songs are catchy, edgy, sexy. It’s a masterpiece of songwriting. Garbage absolutely does NOT live up to their name.

Not garbage! This Aussie gives it four Anzac biscuits out of five.

i forgot how many bangers garbage have. very strong album that.

I was aware of Garbage growing up, knew the singles, but never had their albums or followed them. I'd assumed they were all scottish and part of the brit pop scene. Definitely higher quality tunes here than the glut of 90s alternative rock bands. Bit of trip-hop vibes in some tunes like 'as heaven is wide'. 'Stupid girl' is still great.

Like to say there's something important happening musically in this album, which did go Platinum in the US...so they must have done something right in connecting to the disaffected youth of the 90s? Garbage the band was apparently the "brainchild" of Butch Vig and Duke Erikson - Vig went onto produce Nirvana's Nevermind album, and the album's most well known track, Stupid Girl, borrows drums from The Clash's Train in Vain, and baselines from Credence Clearwater Revivial's Susie Q. But great music transcends time and makes you feel something. This album contains glimmers of genuine cool, but at its worst, is crass commercialisation of anti-establishment sentiment that makes me want to skip most of the tracks. Overall? More mash than bangers....skip this Garbage.

Rarely have I heard an album that blends similar genres in a way that the feel seamless as they intertwine. The influences of Shoegaze, Noise Pop, Industrial, Grunge and mainly Alternative Dance with Alternative Rock as the main genre creates a sound that makes you wonder if the description one person gives will be same the next will give it. Either way, this album is great introduction to a more hazy and noisy sound that, while not being as great as let's say "loveless" by mbv, has a much lower entry bar that might help people understand the greatness of said record when they haven't really set foot into mbv's extremely shoegazey and noisy sound sound. The opening track 'Supervixen' already gets you into the hazy and sometimes dreamy mood that still shares a lot of elements with Dance music that make you feel like you've been put on both ecstasy and LSD on the same time. I especially like the very shoegazey moments that explode out of thin air all over the song. With 'Queer' a slightly Trip Hop inspired sound appears and the shoegaze vanishes. But that allows the song to have a very strong chorus that shares some industrial elements as well. The guitar after the second chorus comes out of nothing and really makes this song a highlight on the album. 'Only Happy When It Rains' is one of the best known songs on the album and I do really like the grunge inspired crunchy guitar that really drives the song through out and the chorus is also really catchy but the longer the song goes on the more uninteresting it becomes after a while. The song 'As Heaven Is Wide' goes a very different direction with a more electronic and sample style sound that still works as a very dancey song with a lot of focus on drums and bass. While the sound they create might be something really different and forward thinking, it isn't as interesting as previous songs. 'Not My Idea' is one of the noisiest songs on the album and they perform that really well. The jarring guitar that appears throughout the song really sets a tone that is alternated with a more casual chorus. The song generally has a lot of dynamic and melodic changes that make it sound very special although like songs before, looses its interest after a while. A more psychedelic approach has 'A Stroke of Luck' that combines sounds from Trip Hop and Dream Pop with Grunge and Industrial parts to create a very mysterious and nocturnal sound. The second half of the album starts with 'Vow', a return to the Noise Pop and Shoegaze style that although I like the sound of the instrumental, gets ruined for me as I really do not like the vocal performance on this song. But as much as I do not like the vocals, the better is the guitar bridge which makes me really conflicted on this one. 'Stupid Girl' is another highlight of the album for many. Although the structure is something heard a million times before, the chorus is incredible once it starts. The continuing build-up really works to make the song feel organic and different for the most but not all the way. I like the electronic moments on 'Dog New Tricks' but I feel like the song had much more potential that wasn't build on enough. The hazy sound is done very well and it's much more dynamic than 'Stupid Girl' and I prefer it too but I still feel like they could've done more with the song than they ended up doing. 'My Lover's Box' might be interesting to some but it is not to me. The song just flows past my ears without sticking. The chorus is quite nice but that makes up a total of like 45 seconds in the whole song so I am not very fond of this one. A similar problem has 'Fix Me Now' although I like the chorus much more once it's actually there but considering it takes half the song the make it remotely interesting, the song just isn't as great as a lot of other songs even if the chorus is one of my favourites on here. It's the rest that makes it uninteresting. Closing track 'Milk' is the only song that is fundamentally different as it takes a very ethereal wave and electronic sound with typical Trip Hop drums. But all that makes it for me the best song on the album. It is just so beautifully dark and well... ethereal. The (I think) mellotron sample that reminds me a bit of Strawberry Fields Forever just adds to that. favourites: Milk, Queer, Supervixen, Only Happy When It Rains least favourites: My Lover's Box, Vow, Fix Me Now Rating: decent 7 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

Not bad, absolutely fine to have playing during work. But there's nothing remarkable about it either. And I don't think I could listen to much more of them than this album at a time without getting restless.

I remember when this came out and it felt fake from the get-go. I was 11 at the time so I couldn’t articulate it back then, but looking back now (and having just read Wikipedia) I know: it was pop music pretending to be alternative, complete with an imitation Courtney Love shoe-horned in at the last minute. But just like Linkin Park a few years later, the approach worked – Garbage sold millions and millions of albums. But 27 years later, none of it holds up. By the metrics we look back on the 90s that this could be measured against - pop, grunge and britpop - it comes across as fucking BLAND, overly long and full of manufactured Gen X cynicism. Basically no redeeming features or staying power. 1/5.

Like the Gorillaz LP I wasn’t too crazy about the opening track but loved it after that. The song intros are catchy – they drag you in quickly. The band has a good ear for new-wavy pop riffs - with some distorted guitar thrown in. I like the balance of guitar vs electronic beats, and the fact that they can jump back and forth seamlessly between rockers to a more trip-hoppy feel. It was a good idea to recruit Shirley Manson on vocals - she’s quite versatile and varies her style nicely with each change of pace. It seems like all members contribute to the song writing which is good because it doesn’t bore you after a half dozen songs, in fact my favourite might be the last one, Milk (not sure if this is the Tricky production or not). A 9/10 for me.

Thick with the sort of 90s-00s edgy grime that rests upon the windowsill holding a copy of Underworld and Vampire: The Masquerade. Love it.

3 Americans and 1 Brit bridge the Britpop divide, packed with actual hits and could-have-been hits. But has the studio wizardry that sounded futuristic at the time dated? A little. And is not the follow up Version 2.0 even better? I think so. A strong 4.

For whatever reason I havent really connected with Garbage. There’s some solid music here but I still feel kind of meh about it

Probably deserves a better rating from me for the extreme competence of the execution but in the end there's something a little too calculated in this, finely engineered to be a hitmaker of its era. The petulant lyrical sensibility (so exactly summarized by the album's biggest hit) is all the more eye-rolling for this blatant pop pandering.

I forgot to write this review last night, which tells us something. I associate Garbage with a mini-movement of bands that took the beigest elements of trip-hope - the beigest genre- and slapped them on watered down grunge or shoegaze (Sneaker Pimps for the former, Curve for the latter), and bored me. A couple of ok singles, I guess, and a wash of beige.

I avoided this when it came out, assuming it was a half-baked dull grunge-adjacent cash in. Once again, my jaundice bats 1.000! Snoozey college rock tunes, clumsy mild-dominatrixy lyrics sung a bit off-key, no respite from the pleasantly mild trip-hop shadow beats throughout - music for people who found "Nevermind" a bit too intense but liked the T-shirts, appropriate given Butch Vig's role in the whole affair. How would you describe it: refuse, rubbish, scrap, trash...?

This remains one of my favourite albums of all time. So much raw energy and anger, the guitar is aggressively delicious and I can't get over how good the lyrics are.

Garbage is exactly that, garbage. I hate to be so basic in my review and say the very obvious thing, but it's not just obvious in this case, it's resoundingly true. This is one of those bands that I skip when they come up in playlists or change the station on the radio for. I hate their sound, I hate the singing. The lyrics are all such whiny pathetic attempts to be the "edgy cool girl". "I'm only happy when it rains" - oh how pithy! how unique you are! *eyeroll*. This is the lowest point of 90s alt rock for me. I tried going into this with a more open mind today, to see if some of the deeper cuts annoyed me less than the singles, but it truly was all GARBAGE.

These guys and gals are from Madison so I was prepared to be generous. But no. “Stupid Girl” seemed like it has some fun hooks, I guess, but the rest was pretty unlistenable.

This was very refreshing to get right after Permission to Land and Appetite for Destruction, they've aged like avocado, Garbage's self-titled has aged like cognac. Garbage's strength is their unique sound that blends influences from 90s genres like grunge, shoegaze, noise pop, industrial rock, baggy/alt dance, IDM electronica, and even grebo. I don't think any other band really sounds like them, even though they fit snug into the generic "alternative rock" label. Shirley Manson is an extremely talented vocalist who's sultry but depressed vocals fit well with the rest of the band's music.

5. This might just be my favourite album ever.

Awesome from beginning to end. One of my favorite albums of all time!

Now we're talking. This is one of my favorite albums of all time. A full 51 minutes of nonstop bangers. There's so many different genres thrown into this thing that you'd think the end product would be an unfocused mess, but every single song lands, is distinct from one another and nothing feels out of place or boring. Okay, maybe a part of that is my nostalgia talking, but this album is definitely not garbage (world's most original joke). The best songs are "Supervixen", "Queer", "Only Happy When It Rains", "Stupid Girl", "Milk". Can't narrow it down more than that.

soooooooo good

Easily my favorite female vocal lead. Another ultimate perfect album. Wish I could add every song to my playlist. One of my easiest 5’s! 1. Only Happy When It Rains 2. Queer 3. Vow 4. Stupid Girl 5. Supervixen The whole damn album is a banger!

I had a crush on Shirley Manson in the 90s, but in hindsight, I think I probably had a raging erection for Butch Vig and his music production. Might still do.

Exactly my style.

My 90s rock nostalgia bias strikes again! Come to think of it, I enjoyed it more now than I did back then.

LOVED oldschool garbage. My brother used to listen to them and the cranberries and so I was very much so indoctrinated at an early age.

one of the best records in th world

Awesome guitar. Fave track = Supervixen, the opener.

Fantastic album start to finish. Never listened to anything except the two main hits. This was a surprise 5* for me

MMMMM this feels like mid 90s alt comfort food. Stupid Girl partial writing credit is Joe Strummer from The Clash! Queer is an excellent song. Only Happy When It Rains is another great track.

An album of excellence. 25 years later (has it really been that long?) and it's still just as fresh as it was in the mid-90's. Not one week track or filler. Albums don't get any better.

Allein für „Milk“ wären schon fünf Sterne verdient.

Aunque afloje de repente.

This album took me back to my junior high days- LOVE.

30 seconds in I had completely fallen in love with Supervixen. My first time listening to Garbage and I really loved it. I also have Dinosaur Jrs first album 4*, and I think this one is better. There is more variety and experiment with the music. However I’m still not sure it quite hits 5*

Sounds very mid 90s. Shirley Manson’s voice is fairly distinctive. They sounded like a more poppy version of Hole on some songs.

This his some good spots and a some bad spots for me. The singles were ubiquitous in my teen years as Shirley was scottish so Garbage were claimed as one of ours even though they are an american band playing american rock. Shirley herself was responsible for scarousing many teenage boys and i was one of them. The second half of the album showcases the songwriting chops of the band and there are some good tracks. However there is a lot of this that strikes me as bland 90's american college rock of which ive had my fill. This genre for a brit is the equivalent on this list of the americans who complain about too much british indie. Ive struggled through pixies, janes addiction and this and it just bores me generally

Dull, tuneless, fake.

I love this girly grunge-pop sound and the bubblegum-goth vibe.

One of my favorite albums. Not a single song on the entire album that I don't like. 5/5

So gay.

Her angst, blended with sexuality and brutal lyrics, is great. It’s smart, edgy, raw, and powerful. There are so many solid songs back-to-back that it just keeps getting better.

Milk is one of the sexiest songs ever!

I can't objectively rate this album -- came along at a transitional point in my life when I was just getting out of graduate school and starting to "adult." I wore this album out. My fondest wish was to be broken by Shirley Manson. Something about this album just hit the sweet spot between U2 and Nine Inch Nails that I needed at the time. Listening to it always makes me happy, whether or not it's raining.

Adore this album. Seen them thrice. At one point had every song memorized.

Not hot garbage

Honestly, I don't think that Garbage is the right title for this album, I think that a much better name for this album would be Pure Gold because that's exactly what this album is. I don't think i was expecting a whole lot from this album, just maybe a 3 star worthy rock album but this album blew all my expectations away from it's first song. The guitars are the right balance of heavy and melodic and Manson's vocals seriously added a lot to this album too as well as all the cool production quirks. Also, every song on this album is a banger and there is not even a bit of garbage which is ironic since it's the band's name. I've got nothing left to say, this album is just amazing. Best Song: As Heaven Is Wide Worst Song: Queer

just garbage, man. From the silent gaps on Supervixen to the distortions on Stupid Girl, and much in between, a very rewarding listen. Milk is my favourite song. For some reason, I don't really like "only happy when it rains", despite it's popularity. I remember seeing this album as a kid as my parents owned a CD, had never listened to it before though. 4.5 star and not pure perfection as the 5 star suggests, but nonetheless, a fantastic listen.

One of my favorite bands in the 90s, I still go back to this album today.

Never listened to this one before. Was peripherally aware of Garbage because they are right in my radio phase but couldn't name any of their songs. Really loved this album! A lot of the singles were great but just your kinda classic grungy 90s rock.

I wish I could say ‘this title is accurate lol’ and get on with my day but this is actually really good

Love this album.

Almost no skips! (Sorry, “My Lover’s Box”. You’re half good at least.) The big singles are the weakest songs imo. Such a great album. High school me won’t let me give it anything less than a five.

A Stroke of Luck

Top stuff

First time I heard them and I was missing out truly! Trip hop, fun and excellent

Megachill

Beautiful voice, different genre than the albums listened to so far.

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOO. legendary pull supervixen- i love it. i think overplayed it but 7 or 8 queer- <3. 8 only happy when it rains- 10 bitch fuck all yall as heaven is wide- 9 or 10 not my idea- 6 or 7 a stroke of luck- 6 or 7 vow- 7 stupid girl- 8 or 9 dog new tricks- 6 my lovers box- 7 fix me now- 6 milk- 6 or 7 favorite track- only happy when it rains or as heaven is wide. me without this album: 💀. also id love to give a big shout out to my friend agnes.

Great debut album, not a bad track.

a sound coming together so strongly it honestly makes me a little mad. so many bands spend albums finding out who they really are. Garbage were sure -- and right -- on their first album. bubblegrunge guitars and Hacienda beats go together like cheddar and grapes; maybe it's not your first inclination, but when you do it for the first time you just can't stop. i guess you could call it a "grebo" album, but the reason people prefer "Stupid Girl" over "Unbelievable" by EMF or "Right Here, Right Now" by Jesus Jones (now there was a band) is because "Stupid Girl" has butch vig and those other songs have some asshole from Britain in a pre-war town, blissfully deceiving themselves that the Teen Spirit Bomb will never drop and destroy their little lives. Garbage are post-apocalyptic warriors, dressed in the clothes of the burnt past and the chains of the new world, ready to take on the ruins.

Yes to Garbage.

One of those bands/albums I’m very surprised not to have ever listened to considering they sound like a mix of 90s artists/bands that I love (PJ Harvey, smashing pumpkins, portishead, the breeders) Vocals are great Some very cool riffs

Uuiuu

Nostalgia for a lot of the songs on here. Very enjoyable and more of their hits than I expected on this. 4 or 5 *

this is almost a greatest hits itself! Great tunes and the perfect mix of beats and loops and guitars and cocky vocals. Deserves way more praise than it gets.

YAY!!!! OMG this album has so many fucking memories tied to it. Incense, glow in the dark stars, getting high, summer, Amanda, just moving here, riding the uta bus to work and back, somehow Einstein Bagels. lol Good solid album here! 10 million stars.

Honestly really enjoyed this

What an album. Standouts include Supervixen, Queer, Only Happy When It Rains, As Heaven Is Wide, And Stroke Of Luck. But really, all the tracks are fantastic.

Banger

Hade bara hört tre låtar tidigare men här finns ju ytterligare en handfull låtar som är bra.

01) Supervixen - 10,0 02) Queer - 10,0 03) Only Happy When It Rains - 10,0 04) As Heaven Is Wide - 10,0 05) Not My Idea - 10,0 06) A Stroke Of Luck - 10,0 07) Vow - 10,0 08) Stupid Girl - 10,0 09) Dog New Tricks - 10,0 10) My Lover's Box - 10,0 11) Fix Me Now - 10,0 12) Milk - 10,0 TOTAL: 10,0 (100/100) Current ranking: 3/231 Finally an album that will get five stars from me, I don't even have to listen to it. But I want to, just like I've wanted to for the last 28 years that I've had it on cassette tape. I bought it in 1996 on my graduation trip to Spain and we've been hanging out ever since. The best songs on the album, in my opinion, are "Stupid Girl", "Queer" and "Milk". My dream came true in 2019 when I listened to Garbage live at the InMusic festival. They did not disappoint and Shirley Manson was and remains one of the main idols of my teenage days. A musical icon! This album goes into my personal top 10 of all time.

Amazing

absolutely loved this one and probably wouldn't have sought it out on my own. we need more nasty fucked up women making music please.

this album rocks. i knew only happy when it rains and stupid girl going into it but found a bunch of new great tracks. interesting lyrics, unique sounds and song structure between tracks, and vibes are on point. this is exactly what I want from 1001 albums! favorites: supervixen, queer, only happy when it rains, a stroke of luck, stupid girl, dog new tricks, milk

Dark, sexy, dangerous - Black and Pink.

Garbage's debut album is one of my favorite albums of all time. From beginning to end, it is fantastic.

"If God's my witness, God must be blind." Fuzzy, grimy, catchy, and charismatic. The riffs are gigantic but manage to not smother the lyrics or Shirley Manson's performances. It's hard to listen to this over 20 years later and not hear the massive influence Garbage has had, from their contemporaries to new artists. In my opinion, this is a knock-out 90s rock record. Highlights: Supervixen, Only Happy When It Rains, As Heaven Is Wide, A Stroke Of Luck, Vow, Stupid Girl, Fix Me Now

Been quite a few years since I've last listen to this; strangely I found myself knowing most of the lyrics. A classic from my teenage years.

Favorite songs: Only Happy When It Rains, As Heaven is Wide, Queer.

This was amazing, every song was a banger, it was just the right length, cant wait to listen too again

One of my go to bands back then. Not my favorite album though. I mean you’ve got Butch Vig! He had his hands in Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth. Can’t go wrong with that guy. Love Shirley too; she makes them so unique.

No idea what it would be coming in, but this really surprised me! Nice variety of pop, alt rock, industrial.. Clear vocals that have a certain angsty edge, I love female voice over heavier music. Each song has an interesting hook that draws you in. Great production value, has a 90s flavor but does sorta transcend the era in some ways. I’m sure I heard this back then but can’t be sure. Some songs maybe weren’t as commercially successful but nothing here is “bad” in my opinion.. An unashamed 5/5 from me

Such an amazing album!

definitely vibed with this album, love the style, love the variety from song to song, great lyrics, great vocals, great instrumentals. added the whole thing to my library. definitely my jam and i need to listen to more music like this

FUCK YES!!!

The Downward Girlboss

Classic 90's grunge.

Not garbage, this was pretty good. Pretty unique sound - I'm not sure what specific genre this is, but I loved it and would probably enjoy more music like this. I need to get ahold of my rating inflation but I liked this enough to give it yet another 5. Had many favourites, including Supervixen, Queer, Only Happy When It Rains, A Stroke of Luck, Stupid Girl, Dog New Tricks, and Milk.

Grungy, queer, awesome

One of the few albums to pique my interest in the mid 90's. When I heard 'Stupid Girl' I instantly loved it, then followed by 'Happy When it Rains' which was equally good. The whole vibe of the album took me back a few years to a time before Britpop. It reminded me strongly of Curve, who mastered this sort of sound four years previously. Then throw into the mix, some of the best the U.S. had to offer over the past decade, such as Pixies and Nirvana, but watered down to make a great alt pop record. As Butch Vig is involved, I had suspicions that the band were manufactured, and probably were but I didn't and still don't mind. Starting with the immense loud/quiet 'Supervixen' and finishing with the James Bondesque 'Milk', everything in between is crafted with just the right amount of angst, anger and melancholy which hit all the right notes for me at the time. A 5 star debut.

Just kept listening to this and enjoying it. Picked up more interesting thing on each re listen. It’s close but it’s a 5 from me dawg.

Better than expected. Great 90s rock. Solid all the way through

Being born in 1990 it's hard for me to estimate the popularity of an album at it's release. Is garbage underrated or did I miss their glorydays? This selftitled album deserves to be spoken in the same breath as other alternative classics from bands like Smashing Pumpkins, REM and Jane's Addiction... or does it allready do?

Perfection in 90s

I would make a joke about the name, but others funnier than I have already beaten me to it. Looking at the date of this album, it seems it really helped set the stage for the next decade. Favorite track: "A Stroke of Luck."

Decidedly not garbage

I somehow never listened to a full Garbage album even though I loved the singles growing up. Really enjoyed this one. Good alt-rock but with pop hooks and some electronica elements. I like the darkness of the lyrics and the angst Shirley Manson brings. "Not My Idea" is like a darker cousin of No Doubt's "Just a Girl." It's also clear that they were influenced by bands like The Cure (I wonder if that's where Shirley's affinity for the do-do-dos comes from) and My Bloody Valentine — lots of swirly, distorted guitars, a ton of layered sounds, some droning, shoegaze-esque elements, and a willingness to experiment with sound and push the genre forward. The piano line at the end of "Stupid Girl" is straight out of Nine Inch Nails' playbook. I'd probably give this closer to a 4.5 if I could, but I'm cool with rounding up to 5. Need to explore more of their discography (especially since Cherry Lips is a fantastic song from a different album). 4.5/5 but gets a 5 for rounding