Three semi-anonymous backroom boys fronted by a forgotten foot soldier from Edinburgh also-rans Goodbye Mr Mackenzie. They might not have been the most obvious dream ticket, but 12 million album sales and a halfdecent Bond theme later Garbage were pretty big news. This is industrial grunge with a shiny pop sheen, proffered by festival favourites and stadium act support slot mainstays.
Absolute… is a chronological best of, setting its stall out perfectly on the opening cuts: Vow is an angry sonic blast, the sly strut of Queer drips with attitude, and Only Happy When It Rains a sky-punching anthem that had slackers and goths hugging each other in muddy fields from Somerset to South Dakota. Shirley Manson is a less scary Siouxsie, the sympathetic big sister who doesn’t take shit from the boys, augmented by musicians with a firm grip on the essentials of rock aggression.
As time passes, there’s a desire for mainstream recognition, hence The World Is Not Enough and one new track, Tell Me Where It Hurts, an orchestral rush owing much to Chrissie Hynde. Rumours of Garbage’s dissolution persist, and the closing remix of It’s All Over But The Crying may suggest this is their final bow. At least they’ll be leaving in style.
