| Garbage — Strange Little Birds (June 10, 2016) |
Garbage — Strange Little Birds (June 10, 2016) 
• The Final Word: I can only hope that my review shows how much I love Strange Little Birds. Garbage have created an album that I will absolutely be returning to consistently. (Jonathan Barkan)
• “Buried late on Strange Little Birds, Manson sings about how “we might cheat death if we worship it.” On its face, that line is a bit of gothy drama, but its meaning could stretch so much farther. From the gorgeous, cohesive production to the effective sonic resurrection of the late ‘90s, Garbage pours their heart and soul into the instruments. It’s still not the most original thing in the world, but at least now we know that they’re confidently continuing to choose it for themselves. They are the birds, soaring free. They are the strange, refusing to fix things that ain’t broke — but also unfortunately refusing to fix things that might use some tinkering. Let us all join the feathery flock and fly free.” (DAVID BUCHANAN)
Location: Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Style: Alternative Rock, Female Vocalists
Album release: June 10, 2016
Recorded: 2013–15
Studio: Grunge Is Dead; Red Razor Sounds, Los Angeles, United States
Record Label: Vagrant Records/Stunvolume
Duration: 52:47
Tracks:
01. Sometimes 2:52
02. Empty 3:55
03. Blackout 6:33
04. If I Lost You 4:12
05. Night Drive Loneliness 5:25
06. Even Though Our Love Is Doomed 5:27
07. Magnetized 3:55
08. We Never Tell 4:25
09. So We Can Stay Alive 6:01
10. Teaching Little Fingers To Play 3:58
11. Amends 6:04
• All tracks written by Duke Erikson / Garbage / Shirley Manson / Steve Marker / Butch Vig.
• Essential Tracks: “So We Can Stay Alive”, “We Never Tell”, and “Teaching Little Fingers To Play”
Professional ratings:
Review scores:
♦ AllMusic 4/5 stars
♦ Bloody Disgusting 4.5/5 stars
♦ Slant Magazine 4/5 stars
♦ NME 4/5 stars
♦ Evening Standard 4/5 stars
♦ The Times 4/5 stars
Personnel:
Garbage
• Duke Erikson — electric, bass and acoustic guitar, production
• Shirley Manson — vocals, production
• Steve Marker — electric, bass and acoustic guitar, production
• Butch Vig — drums, synthesizer, production, mixing
Credits:
• Chris Allgood Mastering Assistant
• Eric Avery Bass
• Billy Bush Additional Production, Engineer, Mixing
• Ryan Corey Art Direction, Design, Illustrations, Photography
• Joseph Cultice Photography
• Duke Erikson Composer, Group Member, Vocals (Background)
• Garbage Composer, Producer
• Jeri Heiden Art Direction
• Emily Lazar Mastering
• Shirley Manson Composer, Group Member
• Steve Marker Additional Production, Composer, Group Member
• Justin Mendal–Johnson Bass
• Butch Vig Composer, Engineer, Group Member
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine; Score: ****
♣ Garbage made their comeback in 2012, returning to action after a seven–year hiatus with Not Your Kind of People. Strange Little Birds arrived four years later — a gap that’s just over half the length of their hiatus — and it plays as a continuation of its predecessor, a record that draws a conscious bridge to the band’s ‘90s heyday. If Garbage are no longer opting in with new trends, they’re also not grasping at elusive straws from the past: Strange Little Birds is a comfortable record, an album from a band that embraces its signatures and limitations. As they’re a group of studio musicians, Garbage still thrill with the possibilities of recording, loading each track with all manner of trickery — showiness that envelops, not alienates. Part of the pleasure of listening to Garbage is how their form is their substance: it’s about lush, dark waves of sounds as much as it is pop hooks. Shirley Manson may tackle risky sociological or personal issues in her lyrics, but how she sings is paramount, how her voice alternately soars above and is subsumed by the washes of treated guitars. Strange Little Birds showcases this narcotic pull so well because it doesn’t push at the edges of the band’s sound: it embraces this ebb and flow. Such modesty doesn’t mean Garbage settle for the expected — they can achieve a sultry slow burn on “If I Lost You” — but the impressive thing about Strange Little Birds is how it feels simultaneously familiar and fresh, a record that echoes the past without being trapped by it. (Allmusic).
♣ Garbage (Shirley Manson, Steve Marker, Duke Erikson and Butch Vig) announced their sixth studio album, Strange Little Birds, will be released June 10th on the band s own label STUNVOLUME. Working initially in Vig’s basement and then at Red Razor Sounds in Los Angeles, Garbage drew on a variety of sources, from their recent fan letters back to the albums they loved growing up. The guiding principle was keeping it fresh, and relying on instinct both lyrically and musically , said frontwoman Shirley Manson. Strange Little Birds is less fussed over than anything Garbage has ever made. We fell in love with immediacy, adds Vig.
♣ Some will hear echoes of Garbage s 1995 debut album in Strange Little Birds including Manson herself. To me, this record, funnily enough, has the most to do with the first record than any of the previous records, she says. It s getting back to that beginner s headspace. In part, she says, that s a result of not having anyone to answer to.
Composition & Style:
♣ Singer Shirley Manson said, “the guiding principle was keeping it fresh, and relying on instinct both lyrically and musically”; “To me, this record, funnily enough, has the most to do with the first record than any of the previous records. It’s getting back to that beginner’s headspace.” Manson described Strange Little Birds as a “romantic” record. Manson clarified later, “What I mean by romance, really, is vulnerability. I used to feel so scared, and I think that was why I was so aggressive — but I’m much more willing to admit weaknesses than I was before.” Each song, she says, addresses “different points in my life between me and a person I’ve loved. They’re hot spots in my life, when I was afraid, or vulnerable, or didn’t behave at my best.” Drummer Butch Vig said that that the album is a departure for the band, darker and more “cinematic and atmospheric”.
♣ Manson’s approach to lyrical subject matter came from her perception of an absence of darkness in current pop cultural trends. “I feel like the musical landscape of late has been incredibly happy and shiny and poppy. Everybody’s fronting all the time, dancing as fast as they can, smiling as hard as they can, working on their brand. Nobody ever says, ‘Actually, I’m lost and I don’t have a fucking clue what I’m doing with the rest of my life and I’m frightened.’ “There aren’t really any upbeat pop songs,” says Vig. “Even “Empty”, which has a big, anthemic guitar sound, has pretty dark lyrics”.
Also:
By Jonathan Barkan on June 3, 2016 / Score: ****½
♣ http://bloody-disgusting.com/music/3393377/garbage-astound-strange-little-birds-review/
BY DAVID BUCHANAN ON JUNE 07, 2016, 6:00 AM / SCORE: B–
♣ http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/06/album-review-garbage-strange-little-birds/
Website: https://www.garbage.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/garbage
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GarbageOfficial
♣___________________________________________________________♣
| Garbage — Strange Little Birds (June 10, 2016) |
• “Buried late on Strange Little Birds, Manson sings about how “we might cheat death if we worship it.” On its face, that line is a bit of gothy drama, but its meaning could stretch so much farther. From the gorgeous, cohesive production to the effective sonic resurrection of the late ‘90s, Garbage pours their heart and soul into the instruments. It’s still not the most original thing in the world, but at least now we know that they’re confidently continuing to choose it for themselves. They are the birds, soaring free. They are the strange, refusing to fix things that ain’t broke — but also unfortunately refusing to fix things that might use some tinkering. Let us all join the feathery flock and fly free.” (DAVID BUCHANAN)
Style: Alternative Rock, Female Vocalists
Album release: June 10, 2016
Recorded: 2013–15
Studio: Grunge Is Dead; Red Razor Sounds, Los Angeles, United States
Record Label: Vagrant Records/Stunvolume
Duration: 52:47
Tracks:
01. Sometimes 2:52
02. Empty 3:55
03. Blackout 6:33
04. If I Lost You 4:12
05. Night Drive Loneliness 5:25
06. Even Though Our Love Is Doomed 5:27
07. Magnetized 3:55
08. We Never Tell 4:25
09. So We Can Stay Alive 6:01
10. Teaching Little Fingers To Play 3:58
11. Amends 6:04
• All tracks written by Duke Erikson / Garbage / Shirley Manson / Steve Marker / Butch Vig.
• Essential Tracks: “So We Can Stay Alive”, “We Never Tell”, and “Teaching Little Fingers To Play”
Professional ratings:
Review scores:
♦ AllMusic 4/5 stars
♦ Bloody Disgusting 4.5/5 stars
♦ Slant Magazine 4/5 stars
♦ NME 4/5 stars
♦ Evening Standard 4/5 stars
♦ The Times 4/5 stars
Personnel:
Garbage
• Duke Erikson — electric, bass and acoustic guitar, production
• Shirley Manson — vocals, production
• Steve Marker — electric, bass and acoustic guitar, production
• Butch Vig — drums, synthesizer, production, mixing
Credits:
• Chris Allgood Mastering Assistant
• Eric Avery Bass
• Billy Bush Additional Production, Engineer, Mixing
• Ryan Corey Art Direction, Design, Illustrations, Photography
• Joseph Cultice Photography
• Duke Erikson Composer, Group Member, Vocals (Background)
• Garbage Composer, Producer
• Jeri Heiden Art Direction
• Emily Lazar Mastering
• Shirley Manson Composer, Group Member
• Steve Marker Additional Production, Composer, Group Member
• Justin Mendal–Johnson Bass
• Butch Vig Composer, Engineer, Group Member
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine; Score: ****
♣ Garbage made their comeback in 2012, returning to action after a seven–year hiatus with Not Your Kind of People. Strange Little Birds arrived four years later — a gap that’s just over half the length of their hiatus — and it plays as a continuation of its predecessor, a record that draws a conscious bridge to the band’s ‘90s heyday. If Garbage are no longer opting in with new trends, they’re also not grasping at elusive straws from the past: Strange Little Birds is a comfortable record, an album from a band that embraces its signatures and limitations. As they’re a group of studio musicians, Garbage still thrill with the possibilities of recording, loading each track with all manner of trickery — showiness that envelops, not alienates. Part of the pleasure of listening to Garbage is how their form is their substance: it’s about lush, dark waves of sounds as much as it is pop hooks. Shirley Manson may tackle risky sociological or personal issues in her lyrics, but how she sings is paramount, how her voice alternately soars above and is subsumed by the washes of treated guitars. Strange Little Birds showcases this narcotic pull so well because it doesn’t push at the edges of the band’s sound: it embraces this ebb and flow. Such modesty doesn’t mean Garbage settle for the expected — they can achieve a sultry slow burn on “If I Lost You” — but the impressive thing about Strange Little Birds is how it feels simultaneously familiar and fresh, a record that echoes the past without being trapped by it. (Allmusic).
♣ Garbage (Shirley Manson, Steve Marker, Duke Erikson and Butch Vig) announced their sixth studio album, Strange Little Birds, will be released June 10th on the band s own label STUNVOLUME. Working initially in Vig’s basement and then at Red Razor Sounds in Los Angeles, Garbage drew on a variety of sources, from their recent fan letters back to the albums they loved growing up. The guiding principle was keeping it fresh, and relying on instinct both lyrically and musically , said frontwoman Shirley Manson. Strange Little Birds is less fussed over than anything Garbage has ever made. We fell in love with immediacy, adds Vig.
♣ Some will hear echoes of Garbage s 1995 debut album in Strange Little Birds including Manson herself. To me, this record, funnily enough, has the most to do with the first record than any of the previous records, she says. It s getting back to that beginner s headspace. In part, she says, that s a result of not having anyone to answer to.
Composition & Style:
♣ Singer Shirley Manson said, “the guiding principle was keeping it fresh, and relying on instinct both lyrically and musically”; “To me, this record, funnily enough, has the most to do with the first record than any of the previous records. It’s getting back to that beginner’s headspace.” Manson described Strange Little Birds as a “romantic” record. Manson clarified later, “What I mean by romance, really, is vulnerability. I used to feel so scared, and I think that was why I was so aggressive — but I’m much more willing to admit weaknesses than I was before.” Each song, she says, addresses “different points in my life between me and a person I’ve loved. They’re hot spots in my life, when I was afraid, or vulnerable, or didn’t behave at my best.” Drummer Butch Vig said that that the album is a departure for the band, darker and more “cinematic and atmospheric”.
♣ Manson’s approach to lyrical subject matter came from her perception of an absence of darkness in current pop cultural trends. “I feel like the musical landscape of late has been incredibly happy and shiny and poppy. Everybody’s fronting all the time, dancing as fast as they can, smiling as hard as they can, working on their brand. Nobody ever says, ‘Actually, I’m lost and I don’t have a fucking clue what I’m doing with the rest of my life and I’m frightened.’ “There aren’t really any upbeat pop songs,” says Vig. “Even “Empty”, which has a big, anthemic guitar sound, has pretty dark lyrics”.
Also:
By Jonathan Barkan on June 3, 2016 / Score: ****½
♣ http://bloody-disgusting.com/music/3393377/garbage-astound-strange-little-birds-review/
BY DAVID BUCHANAN ON JUNE 07, 2016, 6:00 AM / SCORE: B–
♣ http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/06/album-review-garbage-strange-little-birds/
Website: https://www.garbage.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/garbage
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GarbageOfficial
♣___________________________________________________________♣