Strange Little Birds

Strange Little Birds is the sixth studio album by American rock band Garbage.[3] It was released on June 10, 2016, through the band's own record label, Stunvolume.[4] It is their second independent album release,[5] and follows 2012's Not Your Kind of People.[6] The album's press release describes Strange Little Birds as "a sweeping, cinematic record of a unified mood: darkness".[5]

Strange Little Birds
Studio album by
Garbage
ReleasedJune 10, 2016 (2016-06-10)
Recorded2013–2015
Studio
Genre
Length52:41
LabelStunvolume
Producer
Garbage chronology
The Absolute Collection
(2012)		 Strange Little Birds
(2016)
Singles from Strange Little Birds
  1. "Empty"
    Released: April 20, 2016[2]

Strange Little Birds was preceded by lead single "Empty"[7] and supported by an international tour.[8]

Composition and style

Singer Shirley Manson said, "the guiding principle was keeping it fresh, and relying on instinct both lyrically and musically";[9] "To me, this record, funnily enough, has the most to do with the first record than any of the previous records. It’s getting back to that beginner’s headspace."[6] Manson described Strange Little Birds as a "romantic" record.[10] Manson clarified later, "What I mean by romance, really, is vulnerability. I used to feel so scared, and I think that was why I was so aggressive — but I’m much more willing to admit weaknesses than I was before.”[5] Each song, she says, addresses “different points in my life between me and a person I’ve loved. They’re hot spots in my life, when I was afraid, or vulnerable, or didn’t behave at my best.”[5] Drummer Butch Vig said that the album is a departure for the band, darker and more "cinematic and atmospheric".[11]

Manson's approach to lyrical subject matter came from her perception of an absence of darkness in current pop cultural trends. "I feel like the musical landscape of late has been incredibly happy and shiny and poppy. Everybody’s fronting all the time, dancing as fast as they can, smiling as hard as they can, working on their brand. Nobody ever says, ‘Actually, I’m lost and I don’t have a fucking clue what I’m doing with the rest of my life and I'm frightened.’[5] "There aren't really any upbeat pop songs,” says Vig. “Even "Empty", which has a big, anthemic guitar sound, has pretty dark lyrics".[5]

Recording

Writing and recording for Strange Little Birds took over two years, beginning in early 2013.[5] Garbage recorded over twenty tracks during the sessions.[12] The band recorded the album in Vig's basement[5] and at engineer Billy Bush's Red Razor Sounds studio in Los Angeles.[6] Vig stated, "we mixed it so it’s kind of confessional, almost confrontational. On a lot of songs, Shirley’s voice sounds really loud, in your face, and really dry. There are not a lot of effects. There are some moments on the record that get really huge, but a lot of it is really intimate."[11] Two of the songs written during the sessions, "The Chemicals" and "On Fire", were given a vinyl release on Record Store Day the previous year.[13]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
The A.V. ClubA−[16]
Clash7/10[17]
NME4/5[18]
The Observer[19]
Pitchfork7.0/10[20]
PopMatters[21]
Rolling Stone[22]
Slant Magazine[23]
Spin8/10[1]

Strange Little Birds received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on 26 reviews.[14] Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club wrote, "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."[16] Rhian Daly of NME noted that "Strange Little Birds is a record that's human to its very core, revelling in flaws and failures, but never losing hope. And in that way, it's the perfect mirror for its creators' 22-year career."[18] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine found that "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."[15] Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan commented that "singer Shirley Manson's brooding edge and producer-drummer Butch Vig's mix of sheer guitar buzz and moody industrial texture stake their claim as forebears to artists like Sky Ferreira and even Lana Del Rey."[22] Theon Weber of Spin viewed Strange Little Birds as the band's "strongest set of songs since Version 2.0" and stated that despite not being "innovative", the album "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."[1]

Zoe Camp of Pitchfork dubbed the album Garbage's "strongest effort in 15 years", adding, "Despite these superficial similarities [to the band's self-titled debut album], repeat spins of Strange Little Birds ultimately belie an older, wiser reincarnation of that youthful rage, not just a cheap retrospective."[20] Jordan Blum of PopMatters opined, "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."[21] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani expressed that aside from "Empty" and "We Never Tell", which he characterized as "gratifying but superfluous detours into the well-trodden", Strange Little Birds "emerges as the band's most compelling, adventurous album in 15 years."[23] Luke Winstanley of Clash praised the album as "a thrilling synthesis of the band's most endearing features; quasi metal riffing, with Shirley Manson's devilishly seductive croon and huge industrial pop hooks", concluding, "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."[17] In a less enthusiastic review, Emily Mackay of The Observer called the album a "sluggish comeback" and felt that "[t]here's plenty of build [...] but little release, and a lack of those big, punchy choruses that were [the band's] strongest suit."[19]

Commercial performance

Strange Little Birds debuted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart with 5,293 copies sold on its first week, becoming Garbage's first studio album to miss the top 10 in the United Kingdom.[24] It dropped out of the top 100 the following week,[25] making it the band's lowest-charting album in the UK.[26] In the United States, the album sold 20,000 copies to debut at number one on both the Top Rock Albums and Alternative Albums charts,[27] and at number 14 on the Billboard 200.[28] The album also peaked at number nine on the Australian Albums Chart, earning the band their sixth consecutive top 10 studio album in that country.[29]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Garbage.

Strange Little Birds track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Sometimes"2:52
2."Empty"3:54
3."Blackout"6:32
4."If I Lost You"4:11
5."Night Drive Loneliness"5:24
6."Even Though Our Love Is Doomed"5:26
7."Magnetized"3:54
8."We Never Tell"4:25
9."So We Can Stay Alive"6:01
10."Teaching Little Fingers to Play"3:58
11."Amends"6:04
LP bonus track[30]
No.TitleLength
12."FWY (Fucking with You)"4:44

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Strange Little Birds.[31]

Musicians

Technical
  • Garbage – production
  • Billy Bush – engineering, mixing, additional production
  • Butch Vig – additional recording
  • Steve Marker – additional production
  • Emily Lazar – mastering (at The Lodge, New York City)
  • Chris Allgood – mastering assistance

Artwork
  • Joseph Cultice – photography
  • Ryan Corey – art direction, design, illustration, additional photos
  • Jeri Heiden – art direction

Charts
Weekly sales chart performance for Strange Little Birds
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] 9
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[33] 17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[34] 33
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[35] 16
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[36] 69
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[37] 21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[38] 66
French Albums (SNEP)[39] 23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[40] 22
Irish Albums (IRMA)[41] 45
Irish Independent Albums (IRMA)[42] 4
Italian Albums (FIMI)[43] 33
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[44] 161
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[45] 18
Russian Albums (Russian Music Charts)[46] 4
Scottish Albums (OCC)[47] 11
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[48] 23
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 16
UK Albums (OCC)[50] 17
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[51] 5
US Billboard 200[52] 14
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[53] 1
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[54] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[55] 1

Release history
Release formats for Strange Little Birds
Region Date Label Distributor Format(s)
Australia and New Zealand June 10, 2016 Stunvolume Liberator Music[5][56]
Asia, Europe, and South America
United States, Canada
Japan Hostess[63]

Notes
  1. Additional recording

References
  1. Weber, Theon (June 17, 2016). "Review: Garbage Have Finally Upgraded to Version 3.0 on 'Strange Little Birds'". Spin. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  2. "GARBAGE RELEASE NEW SINGLE "EMPTY"". Murray Chalmers PR. April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  3. Kickham, Dylan (March 10, 2016). "Garbage Reveal Release Sate for New Album Strange Little Birds". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  4. Camp, Zoe (March 10, 2016). "Garbage Announce New Album Strange Little Birds, Plot Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  5. "ALBUM BIO: GARBAGE – STRANGE LITTLE BIRDS [LIBERATOR MUSIC/STUNVOLUME] (OUT FRIDAY, 10 JUNE 2016)" (Press release). Liberator Music. April 18, 2016. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016 – via Mushroom Promotions.
  6. Blistein, Jon (March 10, 2015). "Garbage Prep New Album 'Strange Little Birds'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  7. "Garbage on Twitter". April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016. Ok it’s official. This week you will finally hear the first single off our new record.It’s called EMPTY. And it’s what you want. Trust Me.🐾
  8. "Garbage To Support New Album 'Strange Little Birds' With European Summer Tour". Stereoboard. March 10, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  9. Hendicott, James (March 10, 2016). "Garbage Announce Sixth Album 'Strange Little Birds'". NME. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  10. Trendell, Andrew (March 1, 2015). "Garbage Speak Out On Progress Of 'romantic' New Album". Gigwise. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  11. Stern, Marlow (March 22, 2016). "Butch Vig on the 25th Anniversary of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' and the 'Mediocre' State of Music". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  12. "TWO MORE GARBAGE SONG TITLES REVEALED IN STUDIO PICTURES". Hidden Jams. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  13. Carley, Brennan (April 16, 2015). "Hear Garbage's Record Store Day Collaboration With Silversun Pickups' Brian Aubert". Spin. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  14. "Reviews for Strange Little Birds by Garbage". Metacritic. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  15. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Strange Little Birds – Garbage". AllMusic. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  16. Zaleski, Annie (June 10, 2016). "Garbage gets loose on the superlative Strange Little Birds". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  17. Winstanley, Luke (July 5, 2016). "Garbage – Strange Little Birds". Clash. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
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  19. Mackay, Emily (June 12, 2016). "Garbage: Strange Little Birds review – a sluggish comeback". The Observer. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
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  29. Brandle, Lars (June 20, 2016). "The Temper Trap and Drake Lead Australia's Charts". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
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