BEAUTIFULGARBAGE

This is an Enhanced CD which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Garbage: Duke Erikson, Shirley Manson, Steve Marker, Butch Vig. Additional personnel: Daniel Shulman (bass); Matt Chamberlain (drums). Recorded at Smart Studios, Madison, Wisconsin between April 2000 & May 2001. Garbage's third album finds the bi-national quartet dispelling accusations that have dogged them since the release of their self-titled 1995 debut of merely being a loose collective of producers and a hand-picked singer. Feeding off Shirley Manson's continually underrated lyrical contributions, this alt-rock-electronic hybrid have come up with a collection of songs that combine introspective observations with an eclectic sound that draws from a broad swath of influences. Opening with "Shut Your Mouth," a clattering, rap-flavored track that reflects the band's Outkast influence, Garbage goes on a wild ride that finds them also touching on lush, '60s girl group arrangements ("Can't Cry These Tears") and shimmering dream-pop ("Drive You Home"). Unsurprisingly, BEAUTIFUL GARBAGE gets its edge from Manson's trademark independent streak. On "Silence Is Golden," the fiery Scot rails like PJ Harvey against attempts to silence her in the face of an unspeakable violation while the jittery electro-pop of "Untouchable" finds Manson tearing an adulterous paramour a new one. Elsewhere, Garbage dabbles with gender-bending issues with a Missy Elliott-flavored twist ("Androgyny") only to go further on the new-wave-fueled tale of a "sissy boy" and his fair-weather friends ("Cherry Lips [Go Baby Go]"). Garbage once again reinvents the parameters of pop.