Garbage

Beautifulgarbage

Evolution? not for the better

Review Score:

(8/10)
Beautiful Garbage is not a bad album, but it is hardly a masterpiece. If I could, I'd give it 3-1/2 stars. Garbage is a fantastic group and Shirley Manson is a fantastic voice. However, this album seems very inconsistent.

First of all, I don't find any of the songs particularly memorable. There are some greats here, but nothing like "I Think I'm Paranoid" or "Special" from Versionn 2.0 or "Only Happy When It Rains" from Garbage. The few songs that are great or few and far between. I don't enjoy listening to this album from start to finish.

Perhaps one of the biggest weaknesses I find is in the lyrical quality. There are some great songs such as "Drive You Home", "Cup of Coffee", and "Parade", but I don't find the beginning of the album too great.

The strengths of the album are the variety present here. I appreciate the fact that the album varies in style and tempo. This showcases the talent and diversity of the group. However, I really enjoy the slow tempo songs like "Drive You Home" and "Cup of Coffee" because they really bring out the greatness in Shirley's voice. She is definitely one of the best vocalists there is, and it really shows on these tracks.

This album is definitely an evolution for the group, but I am not sure it is positive as suggested by other reviews. Yes, this is a good album, but it isn't better than Version 2.0 was. I think half of the songs are a step in the right direction, but there is still room for improvement.

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