Garbage: Pale kids

Have you been waiting with baited breath for the return of Garbage? No, me neither. But here they are, making a new album and trying to remember the chords for Stupid Girl in time for their comeback tour next month.

The big question for any band reforming after an extended hiatus is what their new material should sound like. Should it recall the glory days, reminding fans of why they loved them in the first place ("the Take That"); or should it be a disconcerting barrage of white noise and screaming that will confound the masses but maintain your artistic integrity ("the Portishead")?

Judging by their new single, Battle In Me, Garbage have gone for the crowd-pleasing option. The song even recreates the heart-stopping pauses of Supervixen, the opening track on their debut album.

Sadly, the song's raw energy is neutered by Butch Vig's obsessively fussy production. All those effects pedals and multi-tracked guitars rob it of the immediacy that a real rock recording needs. Next time, let's see more of Shirley Manson's rough edges.

Garbage - Battle In Me

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A load of old garbage

...is unfortunately not the name of the Garbage greatest hits album, which has just been announced.

Now, I was always partial to a bit of Shirley Manson and the boys. For all their growling menace and shocking noise, they always managed to sugar-dip their songs in pure pop melodies, like Blondie with a sequencer. Or Courtney Love with an ounce of talent.

Their videos, too, were something special - if only because Manson was at the same time beautifully photogenic and utterly horrific. She was a bit like that 3D cube illusion where your eyes can't decide what they're looking at and go all hurty.

The tracklisting for the greatest hits CD ('Absolute Garbage') is a strictly chronological trip through Garbage's back-catalogue, which means you can pretty much give up after Cherry Lips.

For some reason, though, it's missing the 2001 single Androgyny. Maybe because they finally realised it was a bit rubbish?

Vow
Queer
Only Happy When It Rains
Stupid Girl
Milk
#1 Crush
Push It
I Think I'm Paranoid
Special
When I Grow Up
You Look So Fine
The World Is Not Enough
Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)
Shut Your Mouth
Why Do You Love Me
Bleed Like Me
It's All Over But The Crying
New track (untitled)

As ever with Garbage, they've messed up the timing and the album is coming out in March - thereby missing the Christmas Greatest Hits rush. It's not like they've had a year-and-a-half to put it together or anything.

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