A break away from each other for seven years has done wonders for the spit-polished American-Scottish rockers fronted by Shirley Manson and featuring mega-producer Butch Vig on drums. And though fifth album Not Your Kind of People is no Garbage, the debut album from 1995 which included 90s anthems Queer and Stupid Girl, it's their next best record. It bristles, spits and sparkles, and that's just Manson.
Even though she's not as imposing as she once was, on tracks like Blood For Poppies - with its outburst of distorted guitar fuzz up against her swaggering rap - and in her tough shrieks on Battle In Me, it's clear she is still not to be messed with. Musically, though Garbage's traditional whizz-bang electronic manipulation is in full effect, it's not overdone.
It stomps, pulses and pummels away in all of the band's pristine rock glory, with Big Bright World starting off like an echo, before exploding into a bombastic serenade. The My Bloody Valentine-style shoegaze of Felt is a surprising centrepiece, and once Control gets going it hammers along wildly like a loose bit of iron.
Stars: 3.5/5
