Garbage were a breath of fresh air as soon as they arrived on the 90s alt-rock scene. Fronted by the outspoken, magnetic frontwoman Shirley Manson, they rebuffed the dour navelgazing of grunge and instead created something that was complex, dark, anthemic and tongue-in-cheek all at once. What’s even more surprising is that now, seven albums in, they’re still constantly rebuilding and re-imagining that magic formula. They’re rock royalty at this point, but Garbage is no legacy act.
In 1994 Butch Vig, already a successful producer who had come to prominence with his work on Nirvana’s Nevermind, began looking to form a band that could move away from the grunge style that was en vogue at the time – instead injecting lighter pop influences into an alternative rock sound. Joining forces with guitarists Duke Erikson and Steve Marker, Vig found the band’s ideal singer in Shirley Manson, a Scot who at the time was fronting the band Angelfish.
Garbage released their debut single, ‘Vow’, in 1995, which picked up substantial airplay across the US and UK. They released their debut, self-titled album later that year. The record’s fresh, energised mix of alternative and pop sounds was an instant hit, going on to become one of the decade’s most influential releases – with tracks like the double GRAMMY-nominated ‘Stupid Girl’ and ‘Queer’ still sounding effortlessly cool today. It has since been named one of The Guardian’s 100 Best Albums Ever.
After a triumphant promotion cycle for Garbage which included a GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist, the group released their second album, Version 2.0, in 1998. Their sound grew even more ambitious and diverse, incorporating bigger pop ideas as well as elements of techno and electronica. The band received continued critical acclaim for the album, and it was a No.1 hit on the UK charts as well as receiving GRAMMY nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album.
In 1999, Garbage released ‘The World Is Not Enough’, the theme song for the James Bond film of the same name. The band’s third album, Beautiful Garbage, came in 2001. This saw them dive deeper into the electronic elements they had flirted with on Version 2.0, merging their rock sensibilities with a hip-hop-inspired approach. Dancefloor-beckoning tracks like ‘Androgyny’ and ‘Cherry Lips’ became some of the band’s best-loved singles as well as enduring LGBTQ+ anthems. It was named the band’s “most accomplished and convincing album yet” in a five-star review by Uncut. In 2005, the band released Bleed Like Me, an album that focused on hard-rock sounds and featured a newly political lyrical slant. Kerrang! named the album “the most exciting […] material they’ve put out in years”.
Later in 2005, Garbage announced an indefinite hiatus, which extended into 2007, when they released the Greatest Hits album Absolute Garbage. They released their fifth album, Not Your Kind Of People, in 2012. The album received positive reviews, as did their world tour in support of the album, marking their return to the road after five years away. In 2016, they released the album Strange Little Birds to strong critical acclaim, with NME noting its “fresh zeal and enthusiasm” and describing it as “human to its very core”. The group continued touring in the wake of the album, including the 20 Years Paranoid tour to mark the 20th anniversary of Version 2.0.
The band released their seventh album, No Gods No Masters, in 2021. The record featured vital sociopolitical commentary alongside continued experimentation in atmospheric, new-wavey electronics. It received even further critical acclaim, with sources including NME and Pitchfork declaring it the band’s best work in 20 years. Later in 2021, Garbage embarked on an arena tour in support of Alanis Morrissette which became the most successful female-fronted tour of the year.
In summer 2023, the band co-headlined a US amphitheatre tour with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Through summer 2024, they will complete a headlining tour through the UK and Europe, including a stop at London’s OVO Arena and an appearance at TRNSMT Festival.
