Buzz-saw guitars, and throbbing percussion can sometimes brighten the mood.
That鈥檚 the goal of from the American rock band Garbage, 鈥淟et All That We Imagine Be the Light.鈥� Due for release Friday, it鈥檚 the sound of frontwoman Shirley Manson pushed to the brink by health issues and the fury of our times.
The band鈥檚 familiar sonic mix provides a pathway out of the darkness, with heavy riffing and dramatic atmospherics accompanying Manson鈥檚 alluring alto.
鈥淭his is a cold cruel world,鈥� she sings on the crunchy 鈥淟ove to Give.鈥� 鈥淵ou鈥檝e gotta find the love where you can get it.鈥�
The album is Garbage鈥檚 eighth and the first since 2021鈥檚 鈥淣o Gods No Masters.鈥� The genesis came last August, when Manson aggravated an old hip injury, abruptly ending the band鈥檚 world tour.
The other members of the group 鈥� Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and Steve Marker 鈥� retreated to the studio and began work on new music. Manson added lyrics that lament fatalism, ageism and sexism, acknowledge vulnerability and mortality, and seek to embrace joy, love and empowerment.
That鈥檚 a lot, which may be why there鈥檚 a song titled 鈥淪isyphus.鈥� The sonics are formidable, too. A mix that echoes and helps to leaven the occasional overripe lyric, such as, 鈥淭here is no future that can鈥檛 be designed/With imagination and a beautiful mind," in the title track.
Most of the material is less New Age-y, and there鈥檚 a fascinating desperation in Manson鈥檚 positivity. 鈥淐hinese Fire Horse,鈥� for example, becomes a punky, age-defying fist-pumper.
鈥淏ut I鈥檝e still got the power in my brain and my body/I鈥檒l take no (expletive) from you,鈥� she sings.
Manson sounds just as defiant singing about a love triangle on 鈥淗ave We Met (The Void),鈥� or mourning in America on 鈥淭here鈥檚 No Future in Optimism.鈥� The album peaks on the backside with the back-to-back cuts 鈥淕et Out My Face AKA Bad Kitty,鈥� a battle cry in the gender war, and 鈥淩 U Happy Now,鈥� a ferocious post-election rant.
Then comes the closer, 鈥淭he Day That I Met God,鈥� a weird and whimsical benedictory mix of horns, strings, faith, pain management and more. Hope and uplift can sound good loud.
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Steven Wine, The Associated Press
