Girls Talk
Garbage with Brody Dalle
8:20 min • Stun Volume • May 6, 2014
Andrew Darley reviews
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Following a seven-year break, Garbage returned to music in 2012 with Not Your Kind Of People. It is an album that embraced their inimitable sound, and the lyrics engaged with their experiences and life lessons gained during the interim. Still buzzing by their fan-base’s open arms to their return and revitalization within the band, Shirley, Butch, Duke and Steve are already at work on their sixth record. To celebrate Record Store Day, the band released a double single of ‘Girls Talk’ and ‘Time Will Destroy Everything’ on a limited-run 10” vinyl. Both songs have been in the mix for a while; ‘Girls Talk’ was mentioned as a working title of a song for their 2007 singles collection, whilst ‘Time Will Destroy Everything’ was recorded during the Not Your Kind Of People recording sessions and a section of it was used to open their last tour.
Three weeks later, the band have now released the single on iTunes for those who were not lucky enough to get a copy of the 4,000 exclusive vinyl. ‘Girls Talk’ is inspired by the graffiti that features on the single artwork. It is a mantra against the judgements, gossip and negativity that spreads when you take a chance in life or try something that goes against the norm. What makes the song particularly powerful is the vocal feature of fellow female rock figure Brody Dalle. Side by side, the two singers rail against the naysayers in life and Dalle brings her goosebump-inducing roar as they rage, “You can do what it is that you want without some little bitch in your ear”. The song slinks in with cello and stressed strings before gathering momentum into this ferocious, no-holds-barred moment.
The B-side ‘Time Will Destroy Everything’, is a result of the studio tinkering that the band excel at. Layer upon layer, it crashes in like a spaceship reigning down on Earth to wipe out mankind as we know it. It’s a chaotic ride featuring vocoded vocals, bulldozing beats, gun riffles and engaged phone tones. It’s sonically cinematic, on a blockbuster scale, with the flame-haired powerhouse singing of her fighting spirit in the face of inevitable peril. Its middle-8 section calls to mind the frantic throwdowns the band have ventured on the likes of ‘Temptation Waits’ and ‘I Think I’m Paranoid’. The single’s songs both highlight their signature genre-bending versatility and energy as musicians. Garbage are anticipated to release their sixth album in 2015, which also coincides with the 20th anniversary of their debut, self-titled album.
