CD Review

After releasing only Four albums in ten years, it's pretty obivous why Garbage aren’t major players in the music business. Granted, Butch Vig is an amazing producer but his perfectionism has stalled his once promising band into a footnote from 1995. Yet when they do record, it is as if they never left us and hearing their music feels as comfortable as an old pair of jeans.

Bleed Like Me, though long over due, is a return to the post-grunge sound of the group’s debut. Naturally Vig’s production is flawless and pristine. However, unlike the last two discs, Version 2.0 and BeautifulGarbage, there’s nothing danceable on Bleed - unless you want to slam dance. Shirley Manson growls through each track like a cat in heat as she saunters out a rolodex of tragic tails pertaining to lost loves, wild sexual escapades and hostile altercations. Duke Erikson’s amazingly understated guitar work, again, serves its purpose, never overshadowing Manson’s sensual vocals.

If the group’s goal was to remain an unpredictable and enigmatic force with a cult following, then they have succeeded. While hard core Garbage lovers are salivating over the new record, Bleed Like Me probably isn’t winning Garbage many new fans.