Absolute Garbage
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Three semi-anonymous backroom boys fronted by a forgotten foot soldier from Edinburgh also-rans Goodbye Mr Mackenzie. On paper, they might not have been the most obvious dream ticket, but 12 million album sales and a half-decent Bond theme later Garbage were pretty big news. This is industrial grunge with a shiny pop sheen, proffered by festival favourites and stadium act support slot mainstays.
Absolute... is a straight-forward chronological best of, which sets its stall out perfectly on the opening three cuts: Vow is an angry sonic blast, the sly strut of Queer drips with attitude, and Only Happy When It Rains a sky-punching anthem that had slackers and goths hugging each other in muddy fields from South Dakota to Somerset. As did the sublime Stupid Girl... Shirley Manson is a less scary Siouxsie, the sympathetic big sister who doesn't take shit from the boys, augmented by a trio of musicians with a firm grip on the essentials of rock aggression. As time passes, there's an apparent desire for a more mainstream recognition, hence The World Is Not Enough, and the one new track, Tell Me Where It Hurts, an orchestral rush that owes much to vintage Chrissie Hynde...Rumours of the group's dissolution refuse to go away, and the decision to close this compilation with a remix of It's All Over But The Crying may suggest this is their final bow. Were that the case, at least they'll be leaving us in some style.*A version of this review first appeared in the UK music magazine Record Collector*
Absolute... is a straight-forward chronological best of, which sets its stall out perfectly on the opening three cuts: Vow is an angry sonic blast, the sly strut of Queer drips with attitude, and Only Happy When It Rains a sky-punching anthem that had slackers and goths hugging each other in muddy fields from South Dakota to Somerset. As did the sublime Stupid Girl... Shirley Manson is a less scary Siouxsie, the sympathetic big sister who doesn't take shit from the boys, augmented by a trio of musicians with a firm grip on the essentials of rock aggression. As time passes, there's an apparent desire for a more mainstream recognition, hence The World Is Not Enough, and the one new track, Tell Me Where It Hurts, an orchestral rush that owes much to vintage Chrissie Hynde...Rumours of the group's dissolution refuse to go away, and the decision to close this compilation with a remix of It's All Over But The Crying may suggest this is their final bow. Were that the case, at least they'll be leaving us in some style.*A version of this review first appeared in the UK music magazine Record Collector*
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