Garbage - Bleed Like Me

When you name a band Garbage, you're ostensibly working on the irony that the band will not suck. Fortunately, this time the trick works. Instead of being the aural equivalent of their name, the band Garbage has been a pretty consistent pleasure on the music front for some ten years now. (good lord, has it been that long?) And if there's one thing that you can say about the band, they are nothing if not consistent. Bleed Like Me is a Garbage record through and through. And by this I mean that is is exquisitely produced, meticulously mixed and features the sexiest female growlings this side of heaven. Yes, Shirley Manson is my hero and inspires me to pair short skirts with tall boots as often as possible. She is a goddess... ...But back to the music…Like I said, this is a Garbage record. There are hard rockin songs (“Metal Heart,” “Why Do You Love Me”), and there is the patented torch song (“It’s All Over But the Crying”). But as always, the band really hits their stride with songs that don’t really stick to one form. My favorite track is probably the title song, “Bleed Like Me.” The band manages to tackle some incredibly heavy subject matter, like self-mutilation, gender bending, anorexia, and yet almost have it sound sexy. The song is really thoughtful but doesn’t lose any of its allure for the weight of it. The only beef I have with Bleed Like Me is that it falls somewhat into the category in which I have put artists like Dido. You probably really only need one Garbage record to be happy. Any more than that seems to be superfluous. And for my money, their debut is still the best. [www.garbage.com]