20-plus years after forming, each band member is still fired up to mine new sounds and approaches for inspiration. That willingness to be uncomfortable and look beneath the surface makes Strange Little Birds a rousing success.
Strange Little Birds emerges as the band's most compelling, adventurous album in 15 years.
On Strange Little Birds, Garbage finally pair the potency of their past with where they are now and sidestep self-parody.
Though the LP isn’t as varied or experimental as its predecessor, 2012’s Not Your Kind of People, it is more cohesive and alluring, resulting in a superior collection overall and a strong addition to the Garbage catalog.
The impressive thing about Strange Little Birds is how it feels simultaneously familiar and fresh, a record that echoes the past without being trapped by it.
It successfully excavates old and gorgeous Garbage: digs it up, dusts it off, reassembles it, and lovingly crafts replacements, piece by vivid piece, for the strange little sounds that have rotted away.
While Strange Little Birds might not be Garbage’s most immediate release, lyrically it’s certainly their bravest and 20 years into their career, it feels like they’ve entered a new era.
Existing fans will appreciate the uptick in sheer moodiness and offbeat experimental tendencies matched with fluid, often hypnotic melodies the quartet displays on the majority of Strange Little Birds. Newcomers to the Garbage experience can start here and work themselves backwards through an impressively edgy catalog brimming with more of the same.
With their post-return jitters under control, Garbage have solidified that return with Strange Little Birds, their darkest, most intimate LP and the band’s strongest effort in 15 years.
There are a few moments that feel oddly dated or too by-the-numbers, but otherwise, this is an engaging return from the gothic dance-rock four-piece.
Strange Little Birds is not as triumphant or solid of a record as Not Your Kind Of People. While Garbage still sound hungry and willing to try something new, too many songs don't hold up to their reputation. There's plenty of material worth diving into on this album, but the results could have been much, much stronger.
It sounds varyingly like an attempt at a step forward that feels more like a lurch and an exercise in a nostalgia that feels a bit awkward given that they’re echoing sounds that seemed a bit futuristic ten-to-20 years ago.
Strange Little Birds is as close as we will ever get to Garbage: Version 3.0. It is an album that is basically a continuation of where they left off with Version 2.0 and a retconning of everything that happened after. And hey, wouldn't you know it's pretty good. The record is nothing exceptional, but it is obvious it was made with a lot of love and passion for their older music. Unlike what you might expect, the album as a whole doesn't come out as forced and is a good love letter to the fans ... read more
'Strange Little Birds' is really overproduced but is still the band's best effort since 'Beautiful Garbage' - the song's aren't the same quality as the band's '90s output, but at least they sound more comfortable in their own skin and purposeful; plus you feel Manson is invested in her vocals this time.
NR
Sometimes - 2/5
Empty - 3/5
Blackout - 3/5
If I Lost You - 3/5
Night Drive Loneliness - 3/5
Even Though Our Love Is Doomed - 3/5
Magnetized - 3/5
We Never Tell - 3/5
So We Can Stay Alive - 3/5
Teaching Little Fingers To Play - 3/5
Amends - 4/5
An absolute return-to-form and comeback for Garbage. They had been struggling since 2001's Beautiful Garbage to create a thoroughly enjoyable album. Strange Little Birds manages to recapture their signature sound and style, while simultaneously sounding fresh and new. The production is unabashedly raw, with the vocals conveying emotional vulnerability contrasted by powerful, evocative lyrics.
Best Songs: Empty, Blackout, Night Drive Loneliness, Even Though Our Love is Doomed, Magnetized, ... read more
1 | Sometimes 2:52 | 77 |
2 | Empty 3:54 | 88 |
3 | Blackout 6:32 | 87 |
4 | If I Lost You 4:11 | 80 |
5 | Night Drive Loneliness 5:24 | 80 |
6 | Even Though Our Love Is Doomed 5:26 | 82 |
7 | Magnetized 3:54 | 90 |
8 | We Never Tell 4:25 | 82 |
9 | So We Can Stay Alive 6:01 | 87 |
10 | Teaching Little Fingers to Play 3:58 | 79 |
11 | Amends 6:04 | 77 |
#14 | / | Slant Magazine |
#94 | / | Noisey |
#95 | / | Fopp |