Bleed Like Me [Expanded Version][2 LP]

by Garbage

Overview

As polished and professional as it was, Garbage's third album, Beautiful Garbage, killed whatever momentum the quartet had as the LP commercially crashed and burned not long after its fall 2001 release. Subsequently, the band faded out of view, taking a long hiatus before regrouping in 2004 to record their fourth album, Bleed Like Me, which was finally released in the spring of 2005. Although it was released halfway through the first decade of the 21st century, it belongs to the midpoint of the last decade of the 20th century, sounding like a virtual Cliff Notes of the sounds, themes, and styles of the post-grunge '90s. As they beefed up the guitars, the band have toned down some of the electronica underpinnings that have been present since their debut -- they've not been excised, merely subdued, so this is still recognizably the work of a group that called their second album Version 2.0 with their tongue firmly planted in cheek. But Garbage don't just hark back to their earlier work on Bleed Like Me, they conjure all kinds of ghosts from the '90s, building "Sex Is Not the Enemy" on a Kim Deal bassline, while pasting together a guitar riff straight off of Stone Temple Pilots' Purple and a chorus from Elastica's classic "Stutter" for the album's first single, "Why Do You Love Me." Other sounds of the '90s flutter throughout the album -- the title track reaches back even further, as its cavalcade of misfits uncannily recalls Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" in its structure, sentiment, and melody -- while lead singer/lyricist Shirley Manson trots out a litany of doomed relationships, kinky sex, wallowing despair, teenage cutters, and hostile confrontations, all topics that were de rigueur for '90s alt-rock. Manson doesn't seem like she's pandering -- several songs appear to cut close to the bone, suggesting that she's been through a particularly painful breakup recently -- and neither do the band. They remain talented, capable professionals, crafting an appealing, tightly constructed album that plays to the group's strengths. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	04/05/2024
Label:	Geffen
UPC:	0602458664874
Rank:	23395

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Garbage   Primary Artist
Dave Grohl   Guest Artist,Drums
Shirley Manson   Vocals,Guest Artist,Guitar (Electric)
Steve Marker   Noise,Voices,Synthesizer,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Duke Erikson   Mellotron,Synthesizer,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Piano
Justin Meldal-Johnsen   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Matt Walker   Drums
Butch Vig   Bass,Drums,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Electric)

Technical Credits

Douglas Erickson   Composer
Bryan Vig   Composer
Danny Kalb   Assistant Engineer,Engineer
Shirley Manson   Composer,Producer
Duke Erikson   Atmosphere,Programming,Composer,Producer
Frank Ockenfels   Photography
Clay Hutson   Monitor Engineer
Steve Marker   Composer,Producer,Programming,Bass Programming
Billy Bush   Engineer
Garbage   Composer,Producer
Pete Martinez   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Mike Laza   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Emily Lazar   Engineer,Mastering
Ryan MacMillan   Drum Technician,Instrument Technician
John King   Producer
Butch Vig   Mixing,Effects,Composer,Producer,Programming,Drum Effects
Jay Arnold   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Sarah Register   Assistant,Mastering Assistant
Laura Stockton Fox   Production Design
Mat Maitland   Design,Montage
Steven Chivers   Photography Director
Heidi Herzon   Executive Producer
Mary Ann McCready   Management
Beau Sorenson   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Butch Allen   Lighting Design,Production Coordination
Sophie Muller   Video Editor,Video Director
Chris Heuer   Drum Technician,Instrument Technician
Chad Zaemisch   Guitar Technician,Keyboard Technician
John Stanley King   Producer
David Ravden   Management
Grant Jue   Producer
Mark Branch   Engineer