Listening right now. I agree both the title track and The Creeps are excellent. There is a lot going on in each track. They almost have a Early Depeche Mode vibe.
Been revisiting "Strange Little Birds" and have to say that it's much better than I thought it could be. "Not Your Kind Of People" really threw me off the Garbage track. I struggled with this record. Never got into it. Now I guess I should give it another chance. But from what I remember - it was almost ten years ago- it seemed contrived and boring. And I absolutely hated the artwork. A "g" from what seemed like a typewriter. Vow!
Yesterday I started listening again Strange Little Birds and I had forgotten "Blackout" and how great it is!
Thanks to the forum I am aware that this album even exists!! I am on an official Garbage email list.... get regular emails about new merch, discounts, etc. Got zero about this release!! What's up with that?? Anyway I got my copy over the weekend (2CD edition) and have taken it in 3 times now.... first pass it was a little hit and miss. Liked some tracks quite a lot, others, not so much. May have been my own mood, as I was a little stressed out, and driving, at the time... in general though Garbage makes good driving music so it has been my car soundtrack for the last several days now, and I am liking it more and more with each listen. Lyrically, it is obviously pretty in-your-face, so to speak. As others have noted, she doesn't sugar coat anything or pull any punches! I think mostly it works, although some of it is a bit over the top...! That said, overall, yeah, this is a strong work! I like it...
Now that I'm all in on the new album, I need to try those 2 again. I don't think I ever have them a proper shake.
I love each Garbage album but the first two will always have a special place in my heart. New album is fantastic and I would love to see them live again in a headlining gig but right now they are opening for Alanis Morrisette and I am not much of a fan.
Strange Little Birds is a great garbage album. I really liked it when it came out, and I continue to appreciate it. It reminds of their first album, in some ways, which is definitely a good thing, in my book.
Strange Little Birds I've thought was fantastic since release! Never understood the dislike for it. A lot better than the album before, Not Your Kind Of People. This new one has some incredible tracks, along with some I'm waiting to grow on me. Another very strong record. Glad to see the second disc compiling the various single releases from the past few years - Chemicals with Brian Aubert a particular favourite of mine. Think I could compile my own S-tier Garbage record out of this album and SLB mixed together. So good to hear that they're on top of their game still. Particular favs are Wolves, The Creeps, Anonymous XXX, Flipping The Bird.
I'm going to the show primarily for Garbage but I do like AM as well. Tickets waaay too expensive to go just to see Garbage play 40 minutes or whatever and not want to see the headliner!
Flipping The Bird has parts that sound like New Order. Really love it. The whole album is fantastic. The only track I don’t love is the final one. I am sure it will grow on me though.
I've streamed this for 2-3 times now, as the 90's was when I was around discovering new things I must say I like this album a lot so far. What I miss is something in the vein of "When I Grow Up" otherwise a solid 8/10 Garbage album in my book, best since 2.0 feel free to disagree.
Just got my lime green vinyl yesterday. This one is their funkiest album since Beautifulgarbage, and that is a good thing! Not so much compression either, so the stereo imaging is a lot more 3-D, at least on my HD600s. There are some real groovers on there, interspersed with weird tracks in the now-familiar Garbage template. That said, the album does break new ground in its sparse arrangements, with the stun guitars reined in and then unleashed for big choruses and middle sections--I love the nimbleness of the musicianship even more than usual for a Garbage album. And the weird songs are really out there, twisted key changes come out of nowhere, and yet they somehow make sense. Early runner for album of the year, IMHO.
I like the look of the lime green one the best! I hear New Order in the title track and Depeche Mode in "A Woman Destroyed".
My delivery finally arrived today - double-CD, neon green vinyl, and autographed print in hand! Haven't even had a chance to listen to any of it yet, but I was impressed with how well packaged everything was (nothing arrived damaged - hallelujah!), and the signed print was much better than I'd expected - high quality, and with actual full and identifiable signatures for all four band members. Compared to the usual thrown-off, unintelligible squiggles that could have been done by anyone (and frequently are) that show up on most signed items these days, this one is high art. Plus the print itself is straightforward but nicely designed.
The title track for me is a total tribute (vocally) to Siouxsie & The Banshees, to the point where this morning, I had the tune running thru my head and started trying to remember what Banshees album it was from...
Streaming this again, liking it more than before. I have Beautifulgarbage on CD with the special packaging whatever, never liked it. The new one is really something, the Starman cover we could all live without, but it's maybe their first cover on an album so we can give them that. It's not bad, it's just that covers are really difficult to take in as part of an album.
The covers technically aren’t part of the album; the album itself ends with “This City Will Kill You”. The rest are all bonus tracks on the deluxe edition (and are on a separate disc on the CD version). All of the bonus tracks have been previously released, most as 7” and 10” RSD releases that date as far back as 2013.
I actually didn't listen to the covers until a week later. To me it was a bonus disc. First time I heard No Horses was yesterday. What a tune.
Ok, this is part of the challenges with streaming albums on Spoitfy they might be "Deluxe Albums" but acknowledged. Just realized the Spotify version runs 1 hrs 23 mins so sure above today's standards of a normal album length. For some reason I don't turn it off, good stuff!