Legendary band Garbage have just announced news of a new album, ‘No Gods, No Masters’ – their seventh – for 11 June 2021 and, in anticipation, have released the single ‘The Men Who Rule The World’.
The album will be available in a variety of formats including neon green vinyl, white vinyl, and deluxe CD (with 8 bonus tracks, 4 art cards and a poster), plus standard CD, streaming and downloads.
It would come as no surprise that ‘The Men That Rule The World’ is vintage Garbage – excoriating lyrics that attack the patriarchy and greed over the signature heavy and bold instrumentation. Singer Shirley Manson does not pull any punches: angry visceral poetry that decries the many ills of our world:
The fleecing of the people
All the f@cking time
They call it self-preservation
But we call it a crime
Tented cities on sidewalks underneath the clouds
Imaginary neighbours with plastic cups and paper crowns
And there is a final repeated call to arms:
The Violator
Hate the violator
The violator
Destroy the violator
The punchy insistent beat provides a matching ferocity to the lines: the classic combination by the band of a heavy metal thunder matched to melody and delicacy. The accompanying video is a vivid and evocative work of art. According to the band:
This is our seventh record, the significant numerology of which affected the DNA of its content: the seven virtues, the seven sorrows, and the seven deadly sins. It was our way of trying to make sense of how f@cking nuts the world is and the astounding chaos we find ourselves in. It’s the record we felt that we had to make at this time. Major thanks and kudos to the genius Chilean artist and film director Javi Miamor for the incredible visual accompaniment to our brand new song!
This is a stirring and pulse-quickening return by Garbage:
A much needed combative critique of our times. ‘The Men Who Rule The World’ is out now through Liberator Music, and you can buy or stream here.
‘No Gods No Masters’ album is out on 11 June 2021 through Liberator Music and you can pre-order here.
Feature Photograph: Garbage
