Garbage - Bleed Like Me

I remember the days when Version 2.0 never came out of my CD player. I’ve been a long time fan of Garbage since the “Stupid Girl” days, but lately I’ve had to wonder about this band. Now, there’s nothing wrong with a band evolving and changing, but it seems that in a lot of cases, the longer a band is around, the softer they become. The self-titled release and 2.0 were, in my opinion, the highlights of this band’s career. Beautiful Garbage had it’s points, but on the whole was a disappointment to me. This fourth release, Bleed Like Me, has picked up more steam from where Beautiful Garbage left off, but still doesn’t quite close the gap of reaching the initial two albums’ glory.

I’m so glad that the band went back to a more hard rock feel, but completely ditching the electronics and programming was a mistake. Version 2.0 had such a powerful mix of rock and electro; I’d love to see and hear more of that.

I will say, however there are a few very good and rockable songs here. The album starts off with “Bad Boyfriend”, a captivating and sing-along-able introduction, but the next few songs take a dive downhill for awhile. Even the first single, “Why Do You Love Me” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I love the vocals, and a lot of guitar work, but overall, it could have been so much more of a song. The title track was in a similar way underdone. But then, on track 6 we get “Metal Heart” which is much like the old Garbage I know. This is by far my favorite track on this album and a constant on my play list. Great vocals, great riffs, and a driving rhythm. The following song, “Sex Is Not The Enemy” is my runner-up with in-your-face lyrics reminiscent of the sexually-charged “Wicked Ways” from 2.0.

The rest of the album continues in a typical rock way. Nothing terrible, nothing spectacular either. To conclude, it’s not a bad album. It won’t make my top 10 albums of this year, but I’m not overly sorry that I bought it either. I still have faith in the band, and hopefully album five will reach back up to the standards I know they can make.

Recommended Tracks:
“Metal Heart”
“Sex Is Not The Enemy”
“Bad Boyfriend”