Reviews (page 11 of 13)
Ganske hole aktig
Some good and powerful songs, but soon gets very samey
Decent enough. Very of it's time (and it didn't sound particularly ground breaking in the 90s) but the singles still slap and Manson is a great frontwoman
Fittingly seeing Garbage perform with Tears for Fears tomorrow, thanks for the warmup
Upon fresher listening, it seems that STUPID GIRL is just about a girl that Garbage think is stupid and there's not much more going on than that. 3 stars.
Pa nije smeće
E njih sam uživo vidio na inMusicu 2019. godine, i bio sam zadovoljan izvedbom. Tako da fora tipa "kakvo ime benda, takva i glazba" pada u vodu.
A bit samey, and dreary. Not awful
Nothing stuck out to me, but it was still fine to listen to.
Three stars ? Three stars and a half maybe ? As someone wrote elsewhere in this group, the whole project seems *a little* too calculated by sound masterminds trying to profit from the nineties' indie explosion to be considered as a *spontaneously* relevant masterpiece. Producer and band member Butch Vig, of *Nevermind* fame, certainly knew the state of the music business at that particular moment of history. Listening to the album, you can even hear the grind of the charts and graphs in his mind as he and his colleagues try to please very different sections of the audience all at the same time (from trip hop enthusiasts to "alt-rock" explorers, from (n)eurodance and/or UK clubs night owls to dad-rock interlopers--and so on, just take your pick...). Truth be told, if a "corporate grunge" band ever existed, Garbage is probably the one. Too bad their "something for everyone" selling points did not always exactly reach their intended goals, some of them even landing quite flat on the ear today (see "As Heaven Is Wide" or "Not My Idea"). That being said, *other* parts of this first album are still holding out quite well 25+ years later, as dated as the production shenanigans are on the more minor cuts. Yes, sure, even back then you could sense that not everything in this catalogue of angst-ridden-yet-glossy rockers would age gracefully, but in spite of those shortcomings, the songwriting behind a lot of those tracks still redeems a large chunk of the record's flaws when it comes to its sound and overall direction. Many melodies are catchy, evocative and/or instantly memorable, often in a good way. Take "Vow" 's layers of guitar riffs, for example (some of them seemingly recorded backwards): not only are they terrifically efficient earworms, both intense and expansive, but they also prove that Garbage's studio wizardry could lead to truly compelling moments when channelled properly. Likewise, it's not difficult to gather why dancefloor-friendly tracks such as "Queer", "Only Happy When It Rains" or "Stupid Girl" had become such huge hits in the months that followed the release of this record. As calculated as those moves are, there's still an urgency in those songs that make them a worthwhile listen. And it's not as if this record didn't have its lot of darker or less obvious corners to explore, though. Trip hop arrangements, for instance, are conveying a welcome dark atmosphere to the proceedings from time to time ("A Stroke Of Luck", "Milk" ), one that's still working in 2022. As for Shirley Manson, she often has a commanding presence, from "Supervixen"'s stop-and-go dynamics to a "Fix Me Now" that's aiming for the skies and beyond, at least vocally speaking. In the forefront of those Alternative / Industrial Pop landscapes, she brings a goth-yet-melodic spark that fuels the necessary fire to make the whole thing satisfying, at least on an emotional level. Think Siouxsie with a lower voice and a knack for seductive or dangerously sensual choruses. I guess "alternative rock" fans can still thank Vig and his weathered American pals for putting their younger Scottish protégée into the spotlight here. Without this album (and band), chances are that Manson would never have reached this type of instant fame--and frankly, it would have been a shame *not* to get acquainted with her talent as a singer... On a sidenote: check out the bonus tracks recorded during that early stage of the band's career. Some of them are even better than certain songs on the album--replace the three or four clunkers from the original record with cuts like "Subhuman", "Sleep" and "#1 Crush" and maybe you would have had a 4 or 4.5-star album instead. Never got why those great tracks had been discarded in favor of less compelling ones. But maybe this poor choice has something to do with all those charts and graphs in Butch Vig's mind. Whenever you're in doubt about who's reponsible for partially bad results, always blame the board first. Number of records left to review or just listen to: 918 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 42 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 22 (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important to me): 19
You’d be wise to give singer Shirley Manson (I’d be willing to bet this is a stage name, particularly the ‘Manson’ choice) a wide berth. There are no less than two references to the burning down of houses, along with the accompanying burning of Manson’s own hands, and then a full out ‘You burned me but I’m back at your door like Joan of Arc coming back for more.’ In fact, Manson begins that song, ‘Vow,’ by cautioning ‘I can’t use what I can’t abuse, and I can’t stop when it comes to you.’ That one’ll put the fear of Goddess in ya. She continues, ‘Ah, you burn (there’s another fiery instance) and turn to get under my skin. You’ve gone too far now I won’t give in. You crucified me but I’m back in your bed like Jesus Christ coming back from the dead.’ That’s a perfect example of the misuse of the crucifixion image in contemporary music. The utter folly of comparing God’s revelation in the crucified Christ to Manson crawling back into bed with whoever did her a dirty should be obvious. Unless its far worse than that. Indeed, on the opening song, ‘Supervixen,’ she commands her disciple to ‘Make a whole new religion (of me)… and I’ll feed your obsessions. There is nothing (no thing) but this thing, that I’ll never doubt.’ She then concludes with a repeated refrain of ‘Bow down to me.’ Interestingly, this is a lyrical technique she employs on near half the songs on Garbage, revealing a not so well hidden insight into the inner workings of Manson’s troubled mind: ‘Bow down to me… (it’s best to repeat these lyrics several times for the effect)’- ‘Supervixen.’ ‘Pour your misery down on me…’- ‘Only Happy When It Rains,’ a self-explanatory title. ‘Falling…’- ‘A Stroke of Luck,’ all bad. ‘Stupid Girl, I can’t believe you fake it…’- ‘Stupid Girl.’ ‘(Piece by piece) Send me an angel…’- ‘My Lover’s Box.’ ‘I’m waiting (& aching) for you…’- ‘Milk,’ which as an image for loneliness and longing was lost on me. Musically, average. Garbage is a good band, but chooses that increasingly popular, contemporary option of substituting the overall band sound- the power chords of effected guitars and keyboards- for an instrumental solo. I think some good old guitar soloing would significantly improve Garbage, from an ok band to a rather good one. I don’t know if there is much hope, however, for any improvement on Manson’s atrocious self-esteem. And if her loathing were to be only self-inflicted that would, of course, be unfortunate. But she’s genuinely ‘Only Happy When It Rains,’ including the drenching of us all. You know the expression: misery loves company. And hey, if you are, miserable, then you’ll find this LP crowded like a large Irish Catholic wake in a small house in Boston. My suggestion- have a couple of beers, extend your condolences, and move on before Shirley gets there. ‘Cause when she does, (again, from ‘Vow’) ‘I came to cut you up, I came to know you down. I came around to tear your little world apart. I came to shut you up, I came to suck you down. I came around to tear your little world apart… and break your soul apart. I can’t stop when it comes to you.’ Family of the bereaved, caring friends and honored guests, please do not offer her a whiskey. I’d keep the casseroles and desserts out of her reach as well, along with the sharp silverware. And do I need to remind you about securing the matches? Otherwise, things are gonna burn.
Better than I expected/remembered, but it's kind of two songs and a lot of filler. Best track: Stupid Girl
Yep. Sounds of 90s radio stations. That's about all I can say. They're decent sometimes. Post-grunge sound is overdone during those years and these were the leaders. It's well written and recorded and that helps. Added to Library? N Songs added to Playlist - Stupid Girl
I was really enjoying this. Then the guitars just kept on doing the same thing and the lyrics kept on about angels and demons. Maybe I don't have the patience for this, or maybe it's a little bit pants.
Way better than expected. Shirley Manson has a lot of charisma and Butch Vig does a great production with this more electronic approach. I think it's the kind of album that I would have on rotation if I had known it at the right time, but it's still cool to discover it now.
Great album, but I wasnt really in the mood when I listen to it.
I was familiar with the group before I listened to this album, but I had never listened to a full album of theirs. The album was alright. "I'm Only Happy When It Rains" is the best song. I don't think I would listen to this whole album again.
There is some strong nostalgia here, and a few mostly deserved 90s hits. But there are also some pretty cringey lyrics, and some forgettable songs in between the hits. While Shirley Manson was probably what got Garbage the attention, Butch Vig is probably the most interesting in terms of the evolution of rock and grunge in the 90s. His role as a producer for Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins leads me to view Garbage in a slightly different light. However, in the end the works he produced for other bands rise above the efforts here.
And a half
Not too Garbage
As mid-90s alt-rock goes, this holds up surprisingly well. I haven't listened to this in a good while. Am I crazy? Even when it's dripping with that sort of 90s faux-angst, the tunes hold up. I feel like I should want to roll my eyes at 'Only Happy When It Rains', but it works for me. Maybe I just believe it more when Shirley Manson says it. Regardless - a happy surprise. I might put this one on more often.
This is, and I don't mean this in any pejorative sense, the most 1990s album I've encountered thus far on this app. Still, I really enjoy the slinky vocals, and for the most part the songs hang together nicely without really popping. You don't tend to hear guitar or hi-hat tones like that in modern productions any more, do you? Highlight is the enigmatic 'Queer', though most of this is very listenable.
'S ok. Stupid Girl is a classic but the rest was a bit meh.
Q. Why do streaming services only have the extended/remastered versions and not the shorter originals? I think they released 'Vow' as the first single and it's still sounds amazing. 'Supervixen' too. 'Vow' is one of those songs that pops into my head every now and then and I have to go and listen to it straight away. But they were never as good as Curve! Curve should have been massive. As a palate cleanser, I'm gonna go listen to 'Doppelganger' now I think.
Sounds like a studio project, though some of the tunes are catchy. Very digital distortion sheen over things.
Wanted to like this more
Interesting album, some fun songs on there but overall nothing that caught my attention. Might have to revisit
Generic 90s alternative. To quote John Prine, "Pretty good, not bad, I can't complain. But actually, everything is just about the same." 3 stars.
average at the time, and average now - couple of good tunes, some filler, some shite
Better than expected but nothing that overly interested me on it.
Close to a 4. Really good throughout.
Varied and solid from start to finish.
Three Starbage
I didn’t know the band well but when I saw the name I didn’t think I liked them. Perhaps it was their later music that I didn’t like or it might also be that the name of the band doesn’t help with first impressions. They're leading with their chin in that regard. Anyway this was a decent listen. Sent from my iPhone
This was ok, The Singles are decent but nothing here really gets me excited. Shirley Manson uses a distinct snarl in her singing that sounds very mid-90’s and dated today
I wanted to like this more, the first track was really good, but it went downhill into whinyness
poppy grunge
Smashing 90s bangers
Mostly enjoyed the album but had heard enough by about halfway through
Alright, ok. Not my jam, but I get it.
Full of 90s attitude and style. Really like all the shifting grooves and noisey center to this album, but it remains catchy. The guitar tone is very indicitive of mainstream 90s rock but it sits well with the other instrumentation and vocals throughout. A tad too long however.
Good songwriting, good groove, just not really my cup of tea.
Listened to 1/27/21 2.5/5 Favorite song: Kick My Ass BIG head thrashing in your parent’s garage energy - also A Stroke of Luck would make a great murder matter video
It's alright...
This is a decent album! Garbage live made me appreciate this more but not like a super fave
It was pretty good. I got a little bored by the end. It comes out swinging with the hits and then gets a little meandering
2.8 - Garbage never really stuck out to me when they were contemporary and they’re even less notable to me now. Maybe it’s the years that have gone by, but their sound doesn’t seem particularly innovative and the angsty vibes miss their note.
Une bonne ecoute, mieux que je pensais . 3.5
Probably 3.5 stars. There is something quintessentially 90’s about Garbage and that’s not a bad thing. With Butch Vig both in the band and behind the boards they couldn’t really wrong but there is a dark sultry-ness to these songs that make them stand out from the crowd.
Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Supervixen, Queer, Vow Cutting Edge: Stupid Girl Overall Notes: Sick, slick sonic atmospheres and a distinctive vocal timbre. Once you've heard a couple songs you've kind of heard the whole thing, so it goes down as a 3.5 rounded down. Still pretty good.
piacevole ma non impressiona
Only Happy When It Rains - Like this song, nothing special though. As Heaven Is Wide - This is cool, it sounds quite mysterious in the intro and has good guitar. Not My Idea - I like this one too, got a fun chorus and when some quite nice vocals at times. Vow - This is my favourite track so far, very fun and a bit less moody than the others (not lyrically though) Stupid Girl - Everyone knows this one. Good ol' 90s rock that's fun to sing too. Milk - I like this, sadder than the tracks before it and I think it works well. Overall I think this is a solid album, though I think it's very 90s in style and maybe a bit too 90s for me. The lyrics tend to all be very aggressive and 'kick-ass' which I got tired of fairly early on but musically the songs are solid.
Vähän vaikea levy kun välillä tempaa mukaan ja jalka tamppaa ja sitten taas tippuu täysin raidalta. Ei missään nimessä paskaa ja varmaan jos pari kertaa pyörittäis läpi niin pisteetkin saattaisi nousta. Kallistun kolmoseen.
Jos koko levyn taso vastaisi I’m only happy when it rainsia, niin olis ehdoton femma. Valitettavasti loput aika kaukana siitä, joten helppo antaa 3
Nice poppy tunes but unremarkable as an album
Feels dated to the 90s for sure. I don't mind it but I don't love it.
Lekkere plaat!
Still held up well. Sounded a bit more sequenced than I remember
Quintessential 90s. Very enjoyable!
A grunge and alt-rock pairing that engenders subtle dark qualities and evokes mystery. While modest in its production as a rock album, the harmony of composition still achieves the intended direction - mildly loose rhythms and liberal use of distortion and crunch. On the whole, 'Garbage' (album) boasts organized arrangements that were influential in the 90's, rendering certain tracks CHBs and the entire album an effortless listen.
Butch Vig and Shirley Manson are legends. I've heard this album a hundred times and always enjoy it
Superxiven and Not my Idea are actually great songs the rest was quiet average for my music taste
ok garage rock
Pretty average sounding now, all the singles are excellent though.
Mmm, Shirley Manson. Hotness notwithstanding, this has a nice grungy feel to it that isn't obnoxious or forced.
Kinda good, pretty emo. High 6
A nice 90s grunge throwback. A solid listen. 3/5
Shirley Manson had been performing with the Edinburgh-based rock band Goodbye Mr Mackenzie since 1984. In 1993, several of the members, including Manson, formed the side project Angelfish. Their only studio album, the self-titled Angelfish, was as commercially unsuccessful as preceding albums by Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, selling only 10,000 copies. Initial sessions with Vig on vocals and the members' past work with all-male groups led to the band's desire for a woman on lead. Marker was watching 120 Minutes when he saw the one-time airing of the music video for Angelfish's "Suffocate Me". He showed the video to Erikson and Vig while their manager, Shannon O'Shea, tracked Manson down. When Manson was contacted, she didn't know who Vig was and was urged to check the credits on Nirvana's album Nevermind, which Vig had produced. On April 8, 1994, Manson met Erikson, Marker and Vig for the first time in London. Later that evening Vig was informed of Kurt Cobain's suicide Garbage continued to work on the album throughout the start of 1995, delayed by Vig's work producing Soul Asylum's Let Your Dim Light Shine album and the songs being "piecemealed together in the studio". Vig described the composing process as a "dysfunctional democracy" where someone would bring a loop or a sample, which was followed by jam sessions in which the band members would "find one bar that's kind of cool, load that into our samplers, jam on top of that, [and] Shirley will ad-lib", with the process continuing until the song was finished, often with "all of the original ideas gone, and the song had somehow mutated into something completely different." Among the songs that were completely reworked, "As Heaven Is Wide" went from "a big rock track" to a techno-style song with Tom Jones-inspired beats, only keeping Erikson's fuzz bass and Manson's vocals from the original recording
good stuff
Finally something that is not making my ears bleed.
I spent the first 3 hours of today pissing a skid mark off the toilet bowl and listening to this on loop. It was one of the best mornings I've ever had in my miserable life. For once the everyday ennui was penetrated, just like your mum was on her 13th Birthday. Now I will suck on the bones of a duck carcass that I have been saving for such a gleeful moment. Forgive me father!
Pretty good. Definitely not garbage. A good mix of different styles to make some great rock listens.
Rock band Garbage's debut album from 1995 sounded more like alternative rock, and was released to critical acclaim. The band experimented with many different genre's sounds and it's even said that most tracks were completely reshaped during recording, with many samples and loops being added. The lead singer Shirley Manson provided the iconic pop/rock female voice to harmoniously blend with the various songs' structures. I, as well as the 4 million people that purchased the album since release, enjoyed listening to this album and am happy I found it here!
Liked more than some of the punk I’ve heard, some cool and interesting sounds on the record but not too memorable tbh
Solid, innovative, original.
Never liked their song on RockBand which was my introduction so happy to say this was a solid album
Better than expected. Very mature songwriting for a first album. They try a little bit of everything, but there is no common theme running through the album. I prefer albums that are more than just a collection of songs.
It starts off like it's mid-song, I kind of like that. I've never liked their biggest hits - the queerest of the queer and the rains song. Not my vibe but I'll keep going. A stroke of luck is nice. I always enjoyed Stupid Girl and I still like that one. My lover`s Box is great.
Solid collection of songs for the most part, very much of that era. I'm surprised how many of these songs I know. Garbage were on the periphery of things I was listening to in the mid-90s, but it turns out it was quite a bit more than I remembered. Not anything I'm planning to revisit anytime soon. Fave songs: Vow, Queer, Milk
// Favs: Only Happy When It Rains / Vow Score: Strong 3 to Light 4
I figured I'd like this album...and I do. Solid indie rock. Songs are all good if not that memorable. I will listen to it again. 3.5 🌟
Enjoyed that
Blast from the past, not bad.
Few classic songs but not a classic album
You know the hits. This was a nostalgia fest too.
Not really my gig, enjoyed sone tracks.
not really a grudge guy but not bad. Most of the songs I know are from this one.
The album is okay. I only really enjoy “Stupid Girl”.
Not bad
Good old fashioned alt-rock of the kind I adore, with a few other influences like trip-hop, it’s like this album was tailored for me; the way every piece of the sound works together is great. Favourite track: “A Stroke of Luck”
Enjoyable but not brilliant! Really good music and Shirley Manson pipes are just incredible! Am I gonna buy it? No. Would I turn it off if it came on randomly? No. 3 stars.
Pretty good overall, definitely 90’s. I probably won’t listen to it again, but I enjoyed it while I did.
Pretty great. Solid damn album from the doyenne of Scottish alt-punk.
Pretty good alt/pop rock. Fav tracks were Queer, Only Happens When it Rains, and My Lover’s Box.
bah c'est cool franchement. peut-être un peu long? 3.5/5.
I really enjoyed this album -I'm a sucker for female pop/rock (it all started with P!nk). It was varied and felt like the sort of thing that would have made me feel powerful had I heard it earlier in life when I had more feelings. Particularly liked 'queer', wonder if this was at the start of the reclaiming of the word or if they were using it because it was controversial.
Nothing special, a few songs are nice.
this is a very shiny pop album masquerading as something it never was - music for girls at the front of the city hall. Accessible but angsty enough - built for singles by butch vig - never hated this back in the day and still don’t ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Actually liked this WAY more than I thought I would. Has that specific style/feel, but it's not bad.
3.5/5 it has some interesting songs, i'll have to listen to it again
Teenage throwback
3 stars. I do not feel like I need to listen to this album again. I think that the album touches several different styles with different songs. For example, comparing Milk and Only Happy When It Rains. To me this does a great job capturing the start of the female lead soft punk/pop bands that developed in the mid 90's. This band fills a similar niche to No Doubt (with Gwen Stefani), but doesn't do nearly as good a job.
good garage band vibe
Brings back memories, but it’s not exactly my cup of tea. It’s bearable (and even enjoyable), but I don’t see myself searching for this on Spotify again.
decent album but not really of any distinction from other rock bands of the same period. nice to listen to though
3.8 - Right in my 90s music periphery growing up. I've always loved the radio hits, "Queer", "Only Happy...", "Stupid Girl." The album lies at the cross-section of many genres of that moment - electronic, grunge, breakbeat, trip hop. Shirley Manson cuts a convincing frontman both in terms of vocals and appearance. But really Butch Vig as producer/drummer is the MVP here, synthesizing a sound that's slick, durable and diverse enough to remain current 25 years later.
Stupid Girl - Clash Sample
Garbage
Good album. Are their hits actually their worst songs?
It’s fine. Paved the way for some other female-fronted alternative/rock bands in a scene that was decidedly male-dominated. In terms of the actual music, I was never that big a fan.
Panicking right now cos I listened to this maybe twice and I can't remember anything about it. Does that mean its garbage? It was very 90s. As someone else said it was like No Doubt (but not quite as good). Just not massively my thing I guess
Very 90s. Actually really enjoyed it. A few great songs and love the singer.
Muy bueno cómo no.
Está bueno.
Some decent old tunes
Ironically, the best songs on this album are the ones that aren't radio hits.
Very 90s, but not bad. It makes me want to watch a movie about teen punks or something. Didn't listen to the whole thing though.. Needed a break after a while.
Sometimes I felt like the lyrics were just like... too 90s for me. It was strange, some songs seemed really self-aware, and others seemed a little too edgy for me. I also noticed there were a few tracks where I really liked a particular section, and then it cut in with some guitar that spoiled it for me. Like "Fix Me Now". Overall, 3/5 for me! :)
Pleasantly surprised by this, not skim instant classic but got really into a couple of the tracks.
Enjoyed it. 3.5 stars
90s Grunge, not bad, has a time and place, but a lot sounded the same. Stupid Girl is a great song and the single off of the album and I like the overall theme, but not a musical grand masterpiece.
This is just okay for me. I prefer the grungier side of the 90s over the industrial/alternative side of it. But there are a few quality tunes.
Good and important, but not my favorite
More like not garbage
Good, not amazing. A couple of the songs stuck out to me, like Not My Idea
Just totally 'fine'. Nothing interesting or giving me cause to talk about this album ever again
Less good than I remember. It was big at the time, but sounds pretty dated.
L’album est loooong j’ai l’impression Le contenu intéressant, bon mix, bonne énergie, mais quelque refrains trop calculés 2.5/5
I like this a bit more than Garbage 2.0, but it's the same mix of 90s electronica and 90s alt rock that just doesn't really interest me in the slightest.
Not bad. Boring to me, but I see how this would have been a huge deal for cool chicks in the 90s.
90s dogshit
Nem escutei tudo pq achei chato
Very dated and not in a good way. Maybe because stupid girl or only happy when it rains are in every 90s movie. The album is bland and all melts together.
I can take this in small doses, something about the compression I think
This was a whole lot of '90s and I'm okay without any more Highlights: "Supervixen", "Queer", "Not My Idea"
- 3.3 - fuck yea, First female voice I’ve heard on this list in too long - Evoking satc / mean girls era - Thought maybe Jennifer’s body but it’s not really edgy enough - Ehh okay I don’t like the genre but it’s whatever
Fand ich mal so gar nicht gut..... anstrengende Stimme
Fand ich langweilig, hat mich nicht abgeholt.
😐
I know stupid girl and I do not like it. -- Post Grunge, 90s electronica, ambient, simple rock and some interesting production clash to produce a quintessentially 90s soundscape. It even has the 'tude. Despite this it is generally an easy listen - but nothing stays with me. It lacks hooks and edges. Refined, over polished pop music with a grungy facade.
Truth in advertising
saw it was a notable 90s thing. but wasn't feeling it.
very 90s grunge. can’t figure out if i’ve heard some of these songs before or if they’re just very similar to others of the genre. i think this is too edgy for me oh ok i have definitely heard stupid girl before. overall this is fine. (also lol at my moment of panic when the version i started listening to was over 5 hours long)
Didn’t like this when it came out. Hasn’t aged well
Not much to say about it. It'skay
me perderam nos momentos trip hop
5.4
Fine alt rock 90s pop.
1:Supervixen- 4/10 Nice melody and very stylistic. don't like the empty gaps though, wouldn't listen to daily 2:Queer- 8/10 nice melody and development 3: Only happy when it rains- 5/10 like the chorus, the verses not so much. wouldn't listen to again 4: As heaven is wide 4/10 nice start. didn't really like it as it progressed 5: not my idea 4/10 nice start. just don't like how it sounds after a few minutes 6: a stoke of luck- 5/10 like the start again. sounds cool and moody. not a fan of the chorus So far i think i like the base/ ideas behind the songs, but the execution is not for me 7: vow- 7/10 like this one at the beginning.ike the more rock vibe compared to the others. still not a fan of chorus. may not listen to again 8: Stupid girl- 8/10 nice start 1:20 love it now so funky got me moving. the piano line is amazing. sounds like the bridgestone song tho lol 9: dog new tricks- 2/10 cool start. not a fan, but tacky in my opinion 10: my lovers box- 4/10 nice start once again like the chorus and harmonies. not a big fan though. 11: fix me now- 5/10 cool start. like the verses and chorus. don't know if i would listen to again though 12: Milk- 4/10 took a minute to grow on me (more like 3) chorus is good, not sure about verses Overall Cool and mysterious vibe, grungy. Like how full the album is, although there was at least one thing i didn't like about every song, so good but not perfect for my own music taste. What would i listen to again? Queer and stupid girl were great.
Made up band by a producer, a good looking woman as frontperson and songs in different styles to harvest as many hits as possible. Again, I wonder why this album is chosen for this book, there are better and more important albums from the 90ties
not for me. grunge but too sad
I was ready to make trash jokes, but the album has its merits. They find a nice balance of pop, rock, and sleaze without feeling overproduced. It was decent (2.5+)
While Garbage’s self-titled debut serves up an intriguing, punkish attitude driven by earworm guitar tension and standout panning effects on tracks like "Vow" and "As Heaven is Wide," the album ultimately buckles under the weight of its own production. Heavy-handed compression frequently muddies the sonic landscape, leaving Shirley Manson's vocals feeling recessed and emotionally detached when they should be cutting through the noise. Aside from a few catchy hooks, memorable bridges, and decent closer moments like "Milk," a vast portion of the tracklist stumbles into mediocre, goofy, or structurally uninspired territory—further plagued by questionable mixing choices like the jarring snare work on "Fix Me Now." It is an album brimming with raw potential that is ultimately stifled by poor engineering, making a disappointing amount of the record live up to the band’s literal name.
I only know the tracks “Only Happy When It Rain" and "Stupid Girl", but the rest of the album is actually quite nice too. Two stars...
Pretty much what I remember from when it came out: a couple of really good tracks and the rest is decent enough.
Love the hits
Band name makes a lot of sense, nothing really special about the album in my opinion.
Okay
Meh
zzz, generico
it is indeed 12 y o girly music. cringy lyrics a stroke of luck is a great track tho 3/10
I grew up listening to Garbage on indie rock radio (no pun intended), fantastic singles, lead my to buy Version 2.0, which was clearly a better album than this one. Happy when it Rains and Stupid Girl might top their fame and discography, but this album is really a debut, looking forward to what they'll do in the future kinda experience for me. The sound is impecable of course thanks to the collective experience of their producer bandmates, but the songcraft needed a little more polishing. I would've placed their next album in this list.
sounded how i expected after glancing at their spotify. nice bit of girly pop grunge
Garbage
se sintió subliminal, no diré más
Не знаю. Не мое.
90 s rock. One of the same
Enjoy the production but not engaging enough from a pop standpoint.
the entire album kinda blends together, all the songs sound the same. Still a relic of the 90s and it deserves a place at the table
Wanted to like this but it did very little for me. Some songs were pretty good.
very 90s
Några ganska bra låtar men som helhetsalbum tyvärr ganska svagt.
Riktig MTV2-feeling. Hann bara lyssna en vända men spontant tråkigare än jag trodde och hoppades, även om det finns vissa höjdpunkter.
Som ett visst cp är inne på är det rätt hyfsat till en början och jag fattar grejen. Sen blir det bara sämre. Den överdrivna obrydda coolheten blir tröttsam, musiken enformig och texterna fantasilösa: "I can't use what I can't abuse" eller "I am weak, but I am strong"
Pensé lo iba a disfrutar más porque es un álbum icónico de los 90s pero la verdad se me hizo denso. Demasiado monótono y un estilo que se queda a medio camino entre ser ruidoso y algo aplacado. Es como un grito en silencio el sonido que tiene el álbum. 4/10
lgbt rock. no other words. im rating it low bc its not my sound, i am not homophobic
90s nostalgia from my childhood couldn't make me like this. Early britpop which feels pretty boring now and hasn't aged that well
I mean it wasn't terrible, but this album didn't bring anything interesting to the table either. Bland, generic noise alt rock gets a meh, and it doesn't help that this felt like corporate manufactured music meant to churn out hits. This album hasn't aged well nor is it interesting, leaving it as a mediocre meh. At least it wasn't actual garbage as badly as I want to call it that.
I'd file this under "Catchy, pleasant, & disposable POP rather than 1001 greatest"...dont take lead singer Shirley to the beach either #beachball ...and yes his is a hill I will die on...but...I'm dead grumpy to see this is on the list when (the similar vintage) Throwing Copper by Live isnt
Listened to on my Apple AirPods Max. Much like my last listened to album, 'Graceland', which saw Paul Simon attempt to fuse his pop folk style with the sounds of South Africa to an effect I found myself not too fond of, I too feel a similar attitude towards Garbage's first album here. On this album, the band takes on the alternative rock of the 90s with a glossy, high production sheen, heavy sample usage for an electronic feel, and rhythms that feel very danceable and, for lack of a better term, poppy. Unfortunately, I did not find myself gelling with the mix of these disparate styles, and in fact I found the album to feel as if it were a effort to put forth the most commercial ready, "play this in your counterculture store that's conveniently located two doors down from the Auntie Anne's in the mall" alternative rock I've yet to hear. This idea takes a while to build though. At first, it's novel in it's combination of alternative rock with this more electronic and dance sound, and the lyrics that accompany these tracks definitely have a darkness to them, both in content and in delivery by lead singer Shirley Manson, who often presents this sultry and moody sound that seems a perfect match for the overall brooding feel of the writing. However, it doesn't take too long for things to start sounding the same, and deeper immersion into the album left something to be desired, as guitar riffs failed to excite and lyrics often conveyed simplistic, on-the-nose ideas that lack a real edge or bite to it. It just becomes plain boring. Much of the album doesn't necessarily sound grating or obnoxious, but I did start getting a headache towards the end with all of these full swirling chords and sampling that added very little to the actual songs other than cheap flair. Honestly, it feels like the opposite of something like Portishead's Dummy, which also presents an interesting fusion, though this time hip hop beats and sampling slowed to a crawl with skinny, frail, and ghostly female vocals. Unlike this album, that one blows me away in it's raw energy, whether from the bold and present samples that dominate a track rather than appear for show, or the vocals, which takes the dark writing of the lyrics and combines it with haunting delivery that feels so devastated and dissociated. Still, there are moments when this album can come together in compelling ways. Of particular note were 'Vow' and closing track 'Milk', which are elevated by the emotive vocal deliveries and the lyrics that stand at opposing ends of the best of Garbage's ideas, with the former being a very straight-on dive into a cruel, toxic person in a relationship that feels aggressive and mean, and the latter being this spacey, interpretive pleading and longing in a relationship that deviously inserts manipulation into those feelings. On the whole, however, I don't find myself to invested into this work. Tracks like those mentioned in the last paragraph highlight the potential of Garbage's style, but unfortunately stick out as outliers rather than parts of a complete realization of that vibe.
i mean peak grunge, incredibly well done but dunno if its a repeat play for me
Britpop?
Really wanted to like this one bc I love a good female rocker. But alas... the 90s.
Muddled vocals and poor audio mixing made this just a bunch of noise.
A bit trashy. Try hard gweny stef or just me
not my thing pero chulo
The Good: We are getting a hint! The Bad: That the hint wasn’t something nice… The Ugly: Realizing that there are people who do like garbage… Let it be said that this is one of the better album covers out there. It is instantly recognizable, from almost a mile away, which I find impressive to say the least. What I find odder is the fact that, had someone asked me the origin of this band, then I would’ve said UK… to find out they are not… ’95… Summer… I am uncertain if this was the summer that I ended up getting second degree sunburn during a quick weekend get-a-way… ’95 was a great time though… However, there was a slight shift in the music scene, where the “indy” music had fully started to push out what was left of Rock and/or Grunge. It also marked the moment when music started to embrace the more pop-sounding music from the likes of Blues Traveler, Hootie and the Blowfish, Better Than Ezra… And the absolute domination of Hip-Hop/modern R&B and other assorted shit like that… For me, Garbage always sounded like the soundtrack for a late ‘90s videogame that you would be playing on your playstation, or maybe x-box… There are, obviously, two songs on this album that anyone who was breathing in the ‘90s will have heard more than ones, which isn’t exactly a good thing… as Garbage was being shoved down people’s throats at a certain point… So why is this album here, and Blues Traveler’s Four isn’t? And are Hootie and the Blowfish represented, or Matchbox 20? Once again Mr Dimery has been able to show us that he is a twat… 2*
Not bad, but not really that into it either. If I could give 2.5 stars, then I would.
A few good songs on this but not the best rock record I’ve had in the list. I did like Queer, Not my Idea and Stupid Girl is my favourite on the album
2.5
4/24 Meh
Hey! The album gave itself its own rating!
Overall, this is pretty paint-by-numbers for the post-grunge MTV era. Everything homogenized. They had some Top 40 hits off this record. But Stupid Girl is the only, really good song. 2/5
Didn't really capture my attention.
A solid sort of rock album. It’s pretty 90s. Which is cool you know I didn’t like it back then now that I’ve listened to the whole thing it’s just not my type of music whatever I don’t care.
I swear, my newsfeed is continually occupied by soundbites from Shirley Manson of Garbage, an outsize presence from a band that had one of two adequate alt-crossover bar-n-grill muzak hits 30 ears ago. Her PR team is peerless. Cool guitar sounds in semi-tuneless tunes. Carefully punctuated stop-starts in case you missed the subtle points.
I didn’t love this one
typical 90s alt rock
I don't get the hype on this one. This album feels very synthetic and dull. Meh.
I think it doesnt have a breaking point in any song but it's good
Highlights: Supervixen, Only Happy When It Rains, Vow Nothing special, it has that typical rough sound combined with edgy lyrics. It tries so hard to get that 90s alternative kool. I liked it musically, but the lyrics made it too edgy for my taste so I can't say that I find this worth listening to again. Was it really essential listening? Not really, I feel like the Sonic Youth records were more trailblazing than this and that they were better too. This was a cheap radio friendly copy (almost threw up on Fix Me Now).
Sounds like a viper hypnotizing someone
I bought this CD at the time. I also traded it in shortly thereafter. My opinion hasn’t changed. It’s a snoozer.
Rock garbage
Has not aged well. Feels so dated and cringe
Memories of pseudo-goths dancing poorly in a dark club. Mid-tier mid-90s.
Yes, garbage
alt-rock spice girls.
Managed to listen to the whole thing without registering it. Really wanted to talk about the rain in one song. That’s all I recall.
La verdad q nada. No me gusto, no le genero nada kcy. Osea nonte digo q una poronga pero tampoco nada que volveria a escuchar. Por ahi es el mood, y tendría que darle otra posibilidad
Garbage
I remember being a little underwhelmed when this was released and that’s still true after listening to it again. It’s fine, but the songs all feel the same to me, 2+ stars I suppose.
On paper I don’t hate this album. But in reality the album's songs sound almost all same. Really needed some change of pace songs I think. The singles are pretty good, but even then both are similar (stupid girl/ only happy when it rains). Overall, nothing really stands out about this album for me.
El disco me ha parecido bastante bueno y con canciones bastante pegadizas, no llega a las 3 estrellas basándome en las puntuaciones que he estado dando, pero me parece un gran trabajo y muy sólido
Très girlsband 90's, fidèle à son époque Kinda sounds like Madonna at times
Не впечатлил
So near me liking it. Female vocalist, garage rock adjacent sound but I was mostly quite bored.
Plenty of radio play for Garbage back in the 90s. The debut album is not garbage...it's pretty standard grunge but with some extra personality having female lead. A couple hit songs and other decent tracks. I can see why this makes the list but it's nothing that is going to get a super high rating from me. Still, Makes sense they toured with Smashing Pumpkins and my rating fits along the same vein as their records. I liked it enough for a 2.35 stars.
Forgettable.
Garbage
God I hate hearing this on the radio
Really expected to like this a lot more considering "Only Happy When It Rains" is a 90's alt rock classic. That being said, pretty much everything on here other than a couple songs here and there was very forgettable. Most of it wasn't "bad", just boring and made me feel nothing. Oh well.
Not a fan
Not horrible, bit I didnt care for it
I sometimes wonder if some of these albums catch me on bad days! The problem I have here is that electronic pop and rock is my genre. It's what I like and I've not seen enough of it in the 1001. I was surprised when this popped up as my next listen - I remembered Stupid Girl and Happy When It Rains. They were OK singles. There are a few more reasonable songs such as Supervixen and A Stroke of Luck, but I'm just listening to the definition of unremarkable here. Depeche Mode, Gary Numan, New Order, they all released better albums that won't make this list, so why am I listening to this? A low 2.
Nice vibe
Eh, it's probably closer to 2.5 stars. It's unique to the 90s, which gives it nostalgia points for me. It has it's moments musically. I like her voice. But it gets very dull at points, and the lyrics make my eyes roll. Not for me.
Not my taste
I expected this to be more memorable, as it's a classical band from my childhood. I guess my sister never listened to them and the songs didn't stick with me?
I find most of this to be boring. There are a couple interesting and fun tracks but most is just trying to hard to be alternative NIN with some grunge and rock dance beats. Not an album I would listen to again.
Not for me
Not garbage, but nothing to write home about. 2.5/5
I like her voice but I wish the instrumentals were a bit bolder. I liked the songs that leaned more into the moody, alt rock style but then there are dance-y pop songs after it which kinda ruins the vibe. I really liked a Stroke of Luck, Not My Idea, and Milk but not really any others
The name speaks for itself, its honestly kinda garbage. Very generic grunge-y pop that just got stale really quick.
women!
There's some promise but it never really delivers
I just don't really enjoy most 90s music it seems.
Cool sounds but feels kind of dated. I feel shallow for thinking it, but there's something very nineties about it and I can't seem to get over that. At times it feels a little bit country rock in a way that I don't appreciate. All that said - some of the beats built on this record sound awesome
Apt naming
Ok
Not my thing when it was released and still isn’t now.
2/5. A listenable album that maintains a consistent mood and sound the whole way through. That's a double edged sword: while the whole of it is cohesive and artistically sound, it can be a little boring hearing the same guitar effects and vocal modifiers song after song. The melodies are generally underwhelming. I think the singer tries to compensate for this through delivery (e.g., whispering, slurring words), but it falls flat. Not a bad album. But not really worth revisiting.
Great album
So much angst. “Sleep” sounds like a song in Dexter. Somehow listened to the delux album and caught 20+ songs. Wish I knew sooner I didn’t have to do that
nunca he oido esta banda y espero no oir mas de ellos
It’s so quiet 💔
Liker det nesten, men ikke helt. Noen fete riff innimellom, og litt fet sound. Men land liksom ikke helt hos meg. 2/5
Tja. Heilt OK, men vart ikkje fan.
There is an easy pun in here that I’m going to avoid making…
- kiva, omaperäinen soundi, vähän jäi kuitenkin valjuksi ja levy ikäänkuin lipui ohi ottamatta otteeseensa
pretty middling 90s stuff. Nothing really stuck out to me outside of the well-known songs. someone else here said it really well. It sounds like the music a fake band in a movie would make.
I didn't really like it. I respect the blend of electronic and grunge but I couldn't enjoy it.
Just not really my cup of tea. Not terrible, but just not something I enjoyed either.
Wasn't really my thing. Liked "Only Happy When It Rains" and "Stupid Girl," but not an album I'll be returning to. Overall Rating: 4.3/10
Felt like it was in a cut scene of Charmed or Buffy throughout this listen.
It's not garbage but it's not great either.
- un mix de punk rock et indie shoegaze, very interesting - a fun listen mais je pense pas que je réecouterais l’album complet - meilleure chanson: a stroke of luck
I liked Queer and Only Happy When in rains, the other weren't for me
not my favourite at all but can understand why it’s on here.
Only Happy When It Rains //
Hey, this band. The vocalist was in the news recently for having a conniption fit at a concert in Australia because one of the audience members was playing around with a beach ball. The Aussies, in our true bantering spirit, busted out dozens of beach balls for their next gig, which caused her to deploy the classic liberal straw man of telling people to concern themselves with greater matters like the plight of the hecking wholesome Palestinian mooslems (as if the human conscious can't be focused on multiple things at once). I don't like to date my reviews with contemporary political bullshit, but I thought that story was funny. I've actually listened to Garbage at one point through Jet Set Radio Live, though I don't remember much about their music - it wasn't my thing. I'm pretty sure they belong to a punky, riot grrrl sound, though I could be mistaken. I was kind of correct in my prediction, though I wasn't expecting this album to have such a subdued sound. This music isn't my thing, though I can't deny that it's interesting. It's unpolished in a very polished way, featuring some interesting effects and attention-grabbing guitar performances. Shirley Manson is a talented vocalist. Her silky smooth, sultry vocals are a good accompaniment to this style of music. "Queer" is pretty cool. The atmosphere of the track is quite unusual. It's heavy and foreboding while also managing to be mixed in a way that makes it sound muffled and sleek. Decent vocals, too. I enjoyed how they complement the guitar hooks. "Not My Idea" has some nice, dreamy guitars. The reverb on "A Stroke of Luck" is also pretty sweet. Book time. Nothing much in there beyond Manson being a good frontwoman, the songs being of high quality and the packaging being unusual - over to Wikipedia I go. Charted well. Many successful singles. Innovative. Solid critic backing. Yeah, I'm favourable to this one. It's pretty unique and ambitious. I cosign this inclusion.
90s alternative pop rock with some atmospheric and fuzziness feels to it. Not sure if I’d listen again, though. A little on the boring side, nothing really makes me want to come back to it. I feel like this album was more a product of its time and didn’t age particularly well.
This did not hit for me but I feel it would be great to hear some of these live.
I don't hate this, but I don't particularly love it either. #TeamBeachBall
Eh barely slipped to a 2 for me. A little boring and samey sounding all the way through
I always thought this band was simply Butch Vig's band. Famous for no other reason. I can say with confidence now that it certainly isn't the music.
I don’t remember this album being so long… I’m only happy when it rains is a nostalgic classic for my personally. I’m stuck on thinking about the choice to name yourselves garbage, was it to rise above the misogyny that teaches women they are sub human, or was it just a way to be quirky in the nineties? Curious how my own thoughts and perspectives have evolved including the questions I ask of the media I consume!
Started hopeful with this one but then trailed off, struggled to finish
In some respects the formula for this was ideal for some part of me: combine loud guitars/dynamics with drum machines (and live playing) + a female voice. One of my personal musician combo ideas is in the same ballpark: New Jack Swing + shoegaze. But if the drums and guitars sound a particular kind of artificial and the lyrics are thrown together, boilerplate alt-rock, well, you get Garbage. I remember this feeling analogous to something like an early talk show with a personality you like (say, early Colbert), but whose writers don’t really have a grip on what differentiates their show yet, or, maybe more helpfully, your trad super group: hey we have all these folks together without their other bandmates and songwriters, surely this will work! Garbage also had a few things going against it with me: the artificial quality of the music wasn’t just limited to a drum sound or whatever, but the entire concept: hot producer wants his own band. Moreover, I had heard a lot of these sounds before because I loved the Vig remix of Depeche Mode’s “In Your Room” not to mention Siamese Dream, all of Curve’s output, etc. I also knew some of Shirley Manson, as a goth-adjacent friend kept up on her (and seemingly ever other female singer in an obsessive way that was kinda weird even at the time, later when he became super anti-feminist, well...), so her presence felt pitched to a certain kind of commercially friendly voice. But hey, I don’t hate all the expensive-sounding stuff from the 90s entirely, so a single like “Only Happy When it Rains” worked, especially for a moody guy like myself. Mostly though, this just struck me as something intended to be “cutting edge” for younger audiences or folks unaccustomed to hearing, I dunno, some crappy RevCo sideproject. Garbage is also a curious sound for this list - mid-90s alt-rock, but Americans (mostly) creating music that takes inspiration from Brits maybe more than their fellow Americans at the time, when this was the height of britpop! Music consumers contain multitudes I suppose.
SORRY
Not my cup of tea
Boring and over-produced.
There’s nothing particularly remarkable about this. Played well enough, but sounds over-produced. Unsure why it is ranked among other albums in this list.
I haven't ever listened to this whole album and I wish I never had to. I really don't like this band.
mmh
Was this a big deal in the mid-90s? I feel like a traitor, being a former Madisonian, but it's really underwhelming. A lot of production: cool sounds, big drums, guitar layers, tricks, but most of the songs either seemed real milquetoast or were straight up annoying. Manson's persona can be charismatic, but even the big hits like Vow, Rains, Queer, I'm content hearing those every few years when they show up on the nostalgia radio station.
Ahh Garbage. You have all the vibes in the world and nothing to say. You were the perfect party music in the mid 90's because of this. They have some hits and sound good. It's like an inch deep though. It also lead to a discussion with a co-worker that everyone knew them but only few people owned this CD. It's alright, nothing that will change your life.
Okay, just generic angsty post grunge music
I love 90s music but this was just okay
Meh, didn't get into Garbage back when, still not a fan. Way too "slick" for Grunge, and not melodically interesting.
It's ok, I don't have a strong opinion. Was not on my radar in 95.
Enkele leuke nummers, maar ook veel garbage.
idk whatever?
I'd never listened to this album before. I like Manson as a singer and the singles are decent but I dislike something about them as a band.
Hørte det, tilføjede et enkelte par saange, har ikke rigtig lyst til at lytte til det igen. Det får 2 for så kan det være jeg ser på en uretfærdig vurdering og genbesøger det.
No es la gran cosa. A estos yankees les gusta a todos lo mismo. Similar a Alanis Morissette algo así.
Just didn't land for me in any direction. I don't even know if I can just spam "Seinfeld effect" for why I don't really find it noteworthy.
Standard, uninteresting rock fare.
You stupid girl
Good recordings of meh songs.
Not for me
Just off the title alone, this seems like it will be interesting. Calling yourself Garbage and creating an album with the same title is certainly a choice. It’s hours after the fact and not a single song was memorable. Just a blah album and artist overall.
Not a fan
Not my favorite era of rock music, coming on the heels of grunge but I can see the quality of the recordings. Butch Vig who produced Nirvana and many others obviously shaped a strong sound & a strong female frontwoman for the band especially at that time. Still this album isn’t really my taste but interesting to listen back.
Too dated.
Har aldrig rigtig hørt Garbage før. Det lød ikke som jeg forventede -- mere cool lyd end forventet, men sangene gjorde ikke så meget for mig.
An attempt to add in dashes of metal box pil to the grunge mix listenable but not earth shattering
I think I hadn't heard this because it wasn't marketed in my direction. It was an alright listen, if it had any nostalgic presence I'm sure I'd be stuck to it right now. There's a couple pretty catchy songs, especially if you repeat the listens. Don't be afraid to try this one twice if you generally enjoy a pop rock vibe. It's very 90s pop rock, empowered fem pop punk vibe with a more alt sound. It's impressive for the moment it represents, but I can live without it. The album art pretty much describes what you're in for, great visual work. 2.4/5
Good rock/punk duo. Good music, unique sound.
meeeh... rokk tónlist sem talaði ekki til mín. skil afhv ég hef ekki heyrt um þá