American-Scottish greats Garbage first branded the music world with a combination of ‘90s rock, dance rhythms and pop that was challenging rather than merely easy listening.

1995’s self-titled debut, followed by sophomore effort Version 2.0 (1998), cemented Garbage’s place among ’90s pioneers including Curve and The Cranberries. Yet their journey has also been plagued by crushing lows, with the group going on hiatus in 2005 after feeling burnt out and needing to find themselves again. Thank god they did just that.

Three years since the four-piece last hit our shores, vocalist Shirley Manson can’t wait for their upcoming Aussie run.

“We’re excited! It’s so great to come to Australia anyway, but (in our winter) to hang out in your gorgeous early summer seems like perfection. Our career more or less started in Australia. We got signed by Mushroom Records and the legend that is Michael Gudinski. So we have a really deep tie with Australia.”

Garbage’s history down here is a storied one, with the group forced to cancel their Soundwave show in Sydney due to torrential flooding that delayed their truck. This escalated following rumours of the band ‘refusing’ to shuffle their set times, causing media and punters to label the band as ‘divas’ and ‘amateur’. Here, Manson offers her own perspective.

“I felt like we got really poorly represented in the press by that festival, and were used as scapegoats for some complete disorganisation… We felt like we did our very best to do right by the fans. But we never come into a show slacking, and I don’t think we would’ve had the kind of career that we’ve had if we did. We take everything very much to heart, and we’re certainly not in the business of letting people down. So I hope that we will more than fulfil our obligations when we’re down in Australia.”

The conversations lightens as Manson delves into sixth release Strange Little Birds, dropping back in June. Starting in drummer Butch Vig’s basement, this led to having two weeks on and off in the studio, an approach which Manson discovered “suits the way I work perfectly”. This marks a shift away from living in a studio for 18 months, which was “insanity, and not a very creative, enjoyable way of making records”.

“So this time I felt free and that everybody was working at their optimum… when you have time off from one another, you can come back and there’s no fatigue or tension. It meant that every time we were together, we were having fun, and that’s so good to build strong relationships within the band.”

“When we created the running order, we realised that there was a thematic mood to the record,” Manson explains. “We’re very proud of it because it’s a real reflection of just what it means to be an ordinary person trying to figure out what the hell is going on in the world right now.”

Reflecting on turning 50 in August, the vocalist admits “This is the most tumultuous the world has ever been in my lifetime. Sure there’s been spots of conflict growing up and I’ve seen some terrible things, but there definitely seems to be a mood and culture in almost every country we visit of bewilderment and chaos. Our record is trying to touch on that and make sense of it… and of course that involves some shadows.

“There’s no life that’s untouched by sadness… So to make a record that completely ignores that is doing a disservice to yourself. It’s fun to write pop songs and get played on the radio, but then as you get older, you want to delve deeper into what it means to be an artist and write about the human experience. You’re always pushing yourself to go a little further and be more honest.”

A key way of doing this is going into every album with a ‘beginner’s brain’, and this is how Garbage have approached it for years.

“If you try to be in the moment when you’re writing and not allow your past successes to define who you are now, then you give yourself license to really explore and do different kinds of work… I don’t want to keep repeating myself. Sometimes I’m going to fail or not do my best work, but at least I will have tried. Luckily I work with people who feel the same way, and as a band we’ve taken these funny little detours, and we’ve got amazingly loyal fans who’ve allowed us to.”

One personal detour was creating the middle break in new track ‘Magnetized’, completely out of nowhere. Considering other spontaneous moments, Manson thinks back to Version 2.0 and coming off the massive success of Garbage, reminiscing the whole band feeling “really confident and excited”.

“I remember sitting down one night in the studio and we wrote ‘The Trick Is To Keep Breathing’, which came out of the blue. The boys started playing some chords and I started singing, and literally ten minutes later we had the basis of this beautiful song which has become a mainstay of our set. Every now and again, you get lucky when songs just come together out of the ether, while other times you’re slaving away.”

Manson then reflects on battling with her inner Jekyll and Hyde over the years, candidly admitting, “My problem is that I have a very outgoing and friendly side to myself, and then I do unfortunately have a black shadow that follows me, and then I don’t want to get out of my bed.”

“But luckily (laughs), over the years I’ve disciplined myself to do something even though I don’t want to, but I have these periods of depression that are always helpful. They’re a moment of pause in a way that’s sometimes good even though they’re painful.”

YouTube VideoPlay

A huge change of pace involved moving from New York to California with her husband Billy Bush, and Manson confesses “Ironically, I really only moved to LA because he (Bush) is a music producer and it was the best place for him to start working. While I’ve always hated it, I find a lot of peace in this city for some reason.”

“I think a lot of it is the anonymity, because we’ve had this huge decade of success and I felt very much looked at and judged. Then I got to LA and no-one gave two hoots who I was, and it allowed me to sink back into normal life.”

It’s a reminder of the place it all started though, with Manson growing up in Edinburgh, which brings on powerful memories.

“I’m very proud of where I come from, and I love how the people believe in principles that I really resonate with. We believe that the weak have to be looked after by the strong, and Scotland is very kind and still very based in old-school traditions because it’s so small and we’re very in touch with nature.

“Growing up there was amazing because we had an incredible school and medical system… I was in a school where there was a private music school attached to it, so we got to play in an orchestra and utilise a music studio, which is so unusual in the ‘80s in Edinburgh.

“It’s romantic and got a dark, passionate history and great art and culture…” Shirley laughs, “I could go on for ages.”

Be sure to catch the alt-rock pioneers on their Aussie run kicking off next month, or grab Strange Little Birds here.

GARBAGE NATIONAL TOUR DATES

Thursday, 24th November 2016
Regent Theatre, Melbourne

Thursday, 1st December 2016
WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

Friday, 2nd December 2016
Hordern Pavilion, Sydney

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine