Review Tuesday: No Gods No Masters by Garbage

 

Garbage

No Gods No Masters

 

The band GARBAGE always surprises. Right when I think they have finally given up, they dump out a new record. NO GODS NO MASTERS is the band's seventh studio album. 

 

Track listing

All tracks are written by Garbage, except where noted.

1. "The Men Who Rule the World" 4:27
2. "The Creeps" 3:33
3. "Uncomfortably Me" 3:16
4. "Wolves" 4:16
5. "Waiting for God" 4:04
6. "Godhead" 4:08
7. "Anonymous XXX" 4:07
8. "A Woman Destroyed" 5:32
9. "Flipping the Bird" 3:37
10. "No Gods No Masters" 4:31
11. "This City Will Kill You" 4:36

Total length: 46:07

Deluxe edition bonus disc

1. "No Horses" 5:23
2. "Starman" David Bowie 4:08
3. "Girls Talk" (featuring Brody Dalle) 3:34
4. "Because the Night" (featuring Screaming Females) Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen 4:55
5. "On Fire" 5:07
6. "The Chemicals" (featuring Brian Aubert) 4:20
7. "Destroying Angels" (featuring John Doe and Exene Cervenka) Garbage, Doe, Cervenka 5:01
8. "Time Will Destroy Everything" 4:44

Total length: 37:12

I have been a fan ever since I first heard the song VOW on the radio. Shirley Manson's plaintive and sexy voice vowing revenge for being wronged. Their first two albums were extraordinary, and why shouldn't they be? The band consists for three renowned producers and a singer / songwriter with an amazing voice! Of course the music would be amazing!  After that, there were all sorts of internal troubles with the band and members and it didn't seem like new music would be forthcoming. But time and time again they put out records when I had lost all hope. Unfortunately, Shirley seemed to get caught up in some singular purpose of championing for the gay community. To me, the music and lyrics suffered as the message was now most important. No one wants to hear your politics, the fans want to hear good music. So they put out a string of forgettable albums. The album title No Gods No Masters left me with a worried feeling in my guy. The was a motto from Margeret Sanger. Many consider her an early feminist and birth control advocate, but she was really an evil racist who came up with abortion clinics to control black populations. She worked with the KKK and even influenced Adolf Hitler's final solution. A real shit-human.

I had little hope for this record, recalling how awful the previous one had been. Then there's the title. And the first release, THE MEN WHO RULE THE WORLD, was an angry man-hating diatribe. However, after listening to it several times, it's pretty good. They no longer fall solidly into the "modern rock" niche that they did at their inception. They are leaning well into the realm of experimental rock now. Then, while I was getting used to this style of music from this band I was shocked with some cover tunes on the record. 

In conclusion, I would say that this album far exceeded my abysmally low expectations. That aside, it's a very listenable record, and a reward for Garbage fans waiting for these guys to get their shit back together.

Get it on AMAZON