When Garbage announced their indefinite hiatus in 2005, on the heels of redeeming disc Bleed Like Me (I personally found Beautiful Garbage to be bland and forced, trying too hard to be what was commercially hip, right down to the promotional imagery), I was devastated. For my formative teens and early twenties, the alternative-electronic fusion of melody behind the sultry vocals of one Shirley Manson had been a mainstay, particularly their sophomore effort Version 2.0. As word came of Shirley’s solo album that never materialized in a travesty akin to the delay of Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine and Nina Gordon’s Bleeding Heart Graffiti,I clung to leaked demos and longed for a new album.
And then, glorious news via Facebook: a Garbage reunion. I actually sang a Hallelujah chorus.
After a year and change of waiting, Not Your Kind Of People drops May 15th, and leading it off is single “Blood For Poppies”. Check it out here. Or not; the hounds have already deleted. It’s been on and off YT, so search away.
My opinion? Instantly reminds me of “Not My Idea” from their debut disc, sonically – this is a very good thing. The hard riff and feedback that kicks in at the chorus in particular echoes their earlier work. Lyrically, it’s not a super-stunner – it slips over themes in “Hammering In My Head” mashed with a dreamy lucidity. Catchy as hell, though, and reminiscent of the band’s original goal to make pop music that sounds “as horrible as possible” by means of grunge and electronic overtones. Head nodding compulsion kicks in right away. Overall verdict: suspect this will be a perfect summer cruising/drinking album, which amuses me, since this song was inspired partially by an article about the opium trade.
Grade: A
Bonus: Check out the teaser for “I Hate Love”, also on Not Your Kind Of People:
Open 'Til Midnight 
Why did they chose this as a single… I hate love is better dont you think that?
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I think this one’s a wiser choice for a single from a business perspective – it’s a little more mainstream in sound, which serves it up as bait to hook in a new generation of fans, while still preserving the band’s signature to welcome back long-time fans. I like I Hate Love better, absolutely. But it’s probably single #2 for this album. Garbage has been gone for 7 years, aside from the Greatest Hits compilation. There are teenagers who were infants when their debut came out. It’s time for the younger scene to hear some real music.
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