Garbage - No Gods No Masters (Album Review)

Electronic alt-rockers Garbage are back with a feisty new album.

Garbage has been around for nearly 30 years as a band, forming in 1993 and debuting two years later. I've been an avid listener throughout their career, now spanning over seven albums. I recently ranked and rated all albums as well, so be sure to check out my "worst to best" Garbage albums list here!

They're certainly no toddlers at this point, and the band's now 54-year-old singer and lyricist Shirley Manson has been subjected to a lot of ageist trolls on social media ever since her late 40s, which is of course completely outrageous. I'm not at all concerned about Shirley not being up to speed, she can probably rock out for a few more decades. Their eldest member, guitarist Duke Erikson has turned 70 after all, and being able to make this kind of music at that age is quite admirable in its own right.

With the ferocious new album No Gods No Masters, the band has yet again renewed themselves and clearly shows the pesky little naysayers that they indeed have a lot more to give!

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Deluxe CD Set

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Green Vinyl

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Special Edition Bonus Tracks

The special edition of the album also comes with an odd collection of eight additional tunes from singles released between the last couple of albums, including original songs, as well as covers of David Bowie's Starman and Patti Smith's Because the Night, plus a song collaboration with ex-Distiller Brody Dalle that was already recorded in 2014, even before the previous album had come out.

The Album's Three Singles

After releasing three new singles this spring, the full album No Gods No Masters has now finally dropped as well, featuring the three tracks and eight other songs.

Belated Middle Finger For the Trump Administration?

The first single I got to hear was The Men Who Rule the World, which ended up as the album's opening track. On my first listen, it instantly gave me low expectations for the album. On the track, Shirley declares that the men who rule the world have made a f***ing mess, fleecing the people while worshipping money, power and success. It felt like a political statement first and an actual song second, where the composition was clearly built around the lyrics and not the other way around.

Apparently, Shirley wants to save the animals, elders and "great works of geniuses" on a mothership and let the rest of our civilisation descend into oblivion. She finishes with the line:

And make it a crime to tell a lie again, and watch those haters bleed.

Also repeated throughout the song is the line:

The violator, hate the violator.
The violator, destroy the violator.

The amount of F-bombs Shirley drops on this track doesn't make it any more radio-friendly. With Joe Biden currently in power, the level of hate and bloodlust also seems a tad excessive and uncalled for. Most likely was the song written while the Trump administration was still in charge. Getting its release just now, half a year after he stepped down, makes it feel a bit out of place. That's one of the downsides of having five-year album cycles, I guess. Meanwhile, bands like Green Day were scolding Trump on stage already in 2016, chanting "No Trump, no K.K.K., no fascist U.S.A.!" at the American Music Awards.

Musically, I don't find the first single particularly strong or memorable either and it also has a rough, sketchy animated video that reminds me of that awful cartoon they used for the song "Shut Your Mouth" in the beautifulgarbage era. Musically, The Men Who Rule the World hasn't got nearly as strong hooks or hit factor as the excellent "Empty" which served as the first single off their previous album, Strange Little Birds.

Hearing single number two; Wolves a while later, only helped to cement my bad feeling about the upcoming album. While it sounded better than the first song (this one actually had a melody!), it still wasn't the powerful single I had hoped for. I just found the sound of it plainly unappealing and awkward. The video also had those risque cardboard animations the first single had, and it took away from the song more than it added, in my opinion. But the weird videos perfectly match the wonky and unsettling sound of the songs themselves, I suppose.

My impression at this point was that if these are the two strongest cuts the new album had to offer, it would be another one of those disappointing in-between albums, like beautifulgarbage kind of was.

Then came single numero tres; the melodic and synth-laden title track No Gods No Masters, which sounded a lot more appealing and again gave me a slight bit of hope for the album.

I agree with this reviewer in that the song The Men Who Rule the World missed its ideal release window. Its release was probably intended to coincide with Trump's presidency, by which it would have the highest impact.

Dystopic and Dissonant Sounding Album

Having heard the album front to back a handful of times now, I can say it's quite an uncomfortable and uneasy listen overall. It's a dystopian study of all the socio-political issues that are tormenting Shirley and the band in this day and age. Shirley is more agitated and frustrated than ever before, resulting in some very edgy and explicit lyrics, accompanied by a lot of mean, dissonant sounding music. If the last effort, Strange Little Birds, was a dark and beautiful album, this would be the dark and ugly one.

The album has a strong sense of desperation and urgency. Most of its impact comes from Shirley's vitriolic lyrics and the ominous soundscapes the band produces. When it comes to memorable hooks and melodies, it -unfortunately- falls short, however. At times throughout this record, I do get the feeling that producer and drummer Butch Vig tries his utmost to cover up lacklustre musical compositions with deep layers of effects and fancy production. Kind of like taking a really dull photo of your breakfast, then drowning it in Instagram filters hoping it will make the motif more stimulating to look at.

The album does indeed sound massive, wide and bombastic, though. The low end on this thing is especially prominent and almost overwhelming, with a lot of rumbling reverb added to it. Rather than making some heavy dance beats or adding something musically, the deep bass is mostly there to further give a sense of urgency and help create that angsty, menacing feel to it. The production and sound quality in terms of detail and soundstage are quite remarkable. It really wraps you with sound. Even though it's obviously in stereo, it feels a lot like a big-budget movie production to listen to. Or perhaps experience would be a better word to describe it.

While the album has more than its fair share of edgy, unpleasant songs, some of the more enjoyable cuts are found at the very end of the album. The synth-driven Flipping the Bird has some Pet Shop Boys shimmer and a bass line reminiscent of New Order. The following track, and third single release No Gods No Masters continues the synth melodies and is the catchiest of the singles that have come off the album so far. The closing track This City Will Kill You, sounds more cinematic than anything they've done before (apart from that Bond theme they did for The World Is Not Enough). This City Will Kill You sounds like it could have been a sad soundtrack to one of those romantic dramas that take place in some big, lonesome city. The song Uncomfortably Me, earlier in the tracklist, is also a quite enjoyable mid-tempo song in the same vein as Medication and The Trick Is to Keep Breathing off the classic Version 2.0 album.

Godhead further develops the industrial sound Garbage introduced on their last album Strange Little Birds' opening track Sometimes. It has a nice Depeche Mode feel to it with explosive, heavily distorted guitars à la Nine Inch Nails in the chorus. And it's a pretty decent song apart from the somewhat offputting and mindboggling lyrics. Shirley whispers heavily:

"If I had a d**k, would you know it? If I had a d**k, would you blow it?"

She later continues: "Get off my tits. Whatever it meant. Call me a b***h. I'm a terrorist."
I'll leave those lyrics for others to analyse further...

A Modern Take On the Manics' Darkest Hour?

While the themes and lyrical content of this album make it an important release, when it comes to the music itself, I'm a bit conflicted. Some might say there is not enough socio-political commentary in modern music, but living with constant global threats like the pandemic and climate crisis, perhaps people have enough angst as it is.

Regardless, back in the 90s, Manic Street Preachers provided masterful commentary on politics and social issues. And in a way, Garbage's latest LP feels a bit like a modern take on the Manics' desperate and depressing 1994 album The Holy Bible, with the horrors of the outside world instead seen through a female perspective. For instance, on Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart the Manics attack the political elite and its greed for money and power, much like Garbage do on The Men Who Rule the World. Back then the Reagan administration was the culprit, now it's (likely) camp Trump. The Manics also raised issues like prostitution and anorexia in the songs "Yes" and "7st 4lbs," respectively. There is definitely a dissonant and menacing vibe on both albums as well. While neither of them is particularly pleasing or uplifting to listen to (The Holy Bible especially), they are important timestamps pointing out severe issues tormenting people of their respective times.

Album Verdict

While I'm not as overly positive about the album as many large reviewers, I applaud the band for experimenting and for writing engaging music with a lot of meaning and importance. I just wish they had stronger musical compositions to back it up with.

I also feel that the lyrics could also have been written in a more descriptive manner. Instead, they resort to cursing, sexual slurs and other profanity to a great extent, and it seems to have been added primarily for the sake of being provocative and edgy.

Writing and releasing a dystopian album in a very dystopian time might seem like the right move, but it could also be the exact opposite. Due to the pandemic, people have dealt with a lot of personal setbacks, traumas and depression. To counter all the negativity I think a lot of people might want something cathartic and uplifting out of their music listening, and No Gods No Masters is anything but a feel-good summer record. It instead offers a lot of dissonance, vitriol and hostility, and I find it unlikely to appeal vastly outside the band's dedicated, core fanbase.

Most enjoyable tracks: No Gods No Masters, Flipping the Bird, Uncomfortably Me, Godhead.