NEW ALBUMS
GARBAGE
No Gods No Masters STUNVOLUME 7/10
Sleek, pissed-off synthpop bangers from Shirley, Butch and co
On their seventh album, Garbage are righteously angry about the chaotic state of the world: late-stage capitalism, the worship of success, racism and misogyny are all in their sights. “The men who rule the world have made a fucking mess”, snarls Shirley Manson at the start, over walloping beats and a dark swarm of guitars. It’sa big, bolshy set, slightly dated by its industrial-rock dynamics, but there’s no denying the Depeche Mode-ish “Godhead” or (especially) the giallo-ish critique that is “A Woman Destroyed”. On a different note, “Uncomfortably Me” draws on Manson’s own anxieties, while the title track sees her endorsing self-belief as the one true way.