Monday October 29, 2001

Beautifulgarbage

(Interscope)

Garbage's second CD, Version 2.0, with its effervescent fusion of electronica and rock staples, was a surprise Grammy nominee for best album. And why not? The disc was a triumph of engineering, a sleek and moody rock creation that was wondrous for both the shallowness of its (over-) produced artifice and for the depth that lead singer Shirley Manson's vocals brought to the tracks.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise that with its latest release, beautifulgarbage, the band takes a big departure from a proven formula for good music. Re-creation is the nature of the artist, I guess. The album's title is an apt descriptor for the band's musical shift - the tracks of beautifulgarbage have left behind the dark and sulky undertones of the band's first two albums and present a more earnest, almost sincere, front. We're left wondering: Is this the same band that is "only happy when it rains?"

Still the evolution is a (mostly) successful one. The lighthearted mood brings to the fore Manson's engaging and seductive vocals (think "Number One Crush") that unify the album's diverse tracks, some of which harken back to the band's previous efforts (kind of like watered-down versions of "Push It") and some of which are borderline-pop confections given a Garbage inflection. Case in point: The disc's third track, "Can't Cry These Tears Anymore," which perhaps serves as a reflexive comment on the band's sulky past projects, is an all-out power ballad full of sentiment and lacking any cynicism. Manson comes off as positively happy-go-lucky - it's great. It's beautiful Garbage, indeed.