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GarbageBleed Like Me Interscope/FMR There's something to be said for Garbage. After ten years of high-climbing hits and head-turning haircuts, Shirley Manson and her band are still here, still relevant and louder than ever. And yet despite this endurance (something sorely tested during the recording of 'Bleed Like Me' as band infighting became rife), despite the volume being turned up to eleven after the introspection and electronic twiddlings of 'Beautifulgarbage', it seems they have much less to say. There's no doubting that a more primal musical energy radiates from 'Bleed Like Me', the band's first album in nearly four years, but the material comes across as a little uninspired. Prominent and explosive guitar riffs infuse the album's opener Bad Boyfriend and barely let up throughout the first four tracks until the end of the album's first single, Why Do You Love Me. Harsh, throaty vocals and all-too-obvious lyrical themes of lost love and betrayal are the order of the day here, and while these songs are certainly not bad, there's a certain sense of the band going through the motions here that soured the opening quartet for me. In fact, some of the album's best moments, for me, occurred when the band revisited the electronic soundscapes of Beautifulgarbage. Tracks such as Bleed Like Me, Sex Is Not The Enemy and It's All Over But The Crying (the album's slow-burning highlight) are better for their measured decrease in tempo and thoughtful lyrics. The only issue here, of course, is that they could easily have been recorded for the previous album. There's no innovation to be had here, but as music goes, even 'Bleed Like Me's low points far outgun the trite pop-rock offerings of bands such as A Simple Plan. All in all, it's hard to give 'Bleed Like Me' a completely negative review. The band has reached a point in my psyche now where they fit like an old slipper; unfortunately, the band seems to have reached that very same point with their music. To call the album "retread rock" would be too harsh, but after four years, I can safely say I expected a little more.  |
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