After "Beautiful Garbage" first came out I listened to it feverishly for weeks on end. I would put it on during my treks through a local park, I played it in my car and on my stereo during early evening. It sort of became a "breakup" album, the kind of music you listen to leech out and attack emotional pain.
Last night I took it off my CD rack and listened to it and I fell in love with "Beautiful Garbage" all over again.
Soulful medicine that tugs at you can be found in tracks such as "So Like A Rose," a song so fragile and pretty it's like a deer you don't want to frighten away. The same goes for the equally powerful but subtly different "Cup of Coffee" and "Drive You Home." Lead singer Shirley Manson combines sweet vulnerability and strength in a way few female singers do. (Well with the possible exception of Aimee Mann, but her music is not really the same at all.)
The more rock-driven titles that are catchy but not so pop that they lose their power include "Shut Your Mouth" (raw and edgy and a much better--and more appropriate--song for female empowerment than "I am Women, Hear Me Roar" ever was) and "Til The Day I Die" (a high-powered lament about loving someone more than you would prefer.)
I love this album so much I've gone through three copies over the years!!
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