Let All That We Imagine Be The Light
As one of rock’s most forward-thinking bands, it’s entirely fitting that Garbage—totemic vocalist Shirley Manson, multi-instrumentalists Duke Erikson and Steve Marker, and drummer Butch Vig—haven’t looked back since they reunited in 2011. Arriving over two and a half decades since their era-defining self-titled debut, 2021’s thrilling *No Gods No Masters* was the sound of a band in the midst of a late-career purple patch. They keep the momentum rolling on this eighth album. Where *No Gods No Masters* surveyed the wreckage of a world mired in chaos, *Let All That We Imagine Be the Light* is an album determined to muster hope and optimism. That’s not to say it still doesn’t go hard at certain points. Opener “There’s No Future in Optimism” sounds like New Order-gone-glam, “Chinese Fire Horse” is an amped-up, barbed-wire reworking of Cameo-style future-funk and there’s a curled-lip swagger to cascading electro-rock anthem “R U Happy Now.” These are songs that erupt with some of Garbage’s brightest hooks yet, an airy pop euphoria elevating the synth grooves of “Sisyphus” and “Radical”’s dreamy soundscapes. Coming together as Manson recovered from a second hip operation, with her three bandmates writing music and sending her demos, it’s a record that finds the singer in defiantly uplifting form and a reminder of what a strange and brilliant band Garbage is. They’re a group who can put together a record by working separately but still evoke the communal jubilance of a band in a room, who can craft seething anthems but summon rallying encouragement. Garbage always sound like they’re already leaning into their next move. *Let All That We Imagine Be The Light* is the vital sound of the four-piece putting their best foot forward.
The alt-rock veterans’ eighth album lacks the bite of their 2021 LP; despite typically expert production, the songwriting is noncommittal—though Shirley Manson remains a fierce, commanding presence.
With their eighth album, Garbage channel a more optimistic outlook, and display some of their most profound songwriting to date
Let All That We Imagine Be The Light is a soundtrack to a complex world that, unsurprisingly since it's Garbage, rocks righteously.
Transatlantic alt. rock legends Garbage again give cause for contemplation on seductive industrial-pop comeback
A stellar example of an artist pushing their collective boundaries, while retaining full control over their artistic identity.
Garbage's new LP is driven by a message above all, and there are some truly exquisite moments in which music and lyrics merge and soar even in the face of social collapse.