Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson has admitted that she thought the band’s 2001 album ‘Beautiful Garbage’ was “the end of my career”.
The record, which was recently reissued to mark its 20th anniversary, “died on a vine” when it was first released according to the singer despite landing at Number Six in the Official UK albums chart.
“I honestly thought that was the end of my career and that we were never going to recover,” she told Classic Rock magazine. “It took a long time for us as a band to regain our equilibrium and our confidence and our joy.”
She added: “Joy is of monumental importance when you’re an artist, particularly in an industry that has become so hard. So to realise that you’ve regained something at this late stage in your life and career feels like unexpected treasure.”
Manson also said even now, the band always “expect the worst” when they release new material.
She continued: “We are always quite surprised when we get a positive reaction. It’s not something we really expect or are accustomed to.”
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This year saw Garbage release their seventh studio effort, ‘No Gods No Masters’. In a four-star review, NME hailed the project as the group’s “best album in 20 years – at least – but one that could only have been made now”.
It added: “Seven albums and nearly 30 years into their career, these veterans have pulled off a record that’s seductive in its sound and resonant in its message, as well as proving a triumph in showcasing not only the lineage that led to Garbage but also their mastery of alt-tinged dark-pop that led us the likes of Chvrches and Lana Del Rey – with even newbies Rina Sawayama and Olivia Rodrigo counting them as influences.”