Garbage returns with their new single, “There’s No Future In Optimism.” The alt-rock legends serve up a seething, steely anthem that glowers through the chaos of the modern world with burnt-out eyes and jagged teeth.
A taste of their next record, “Let All That We Imagine Be The Light,” due by May 30, the song provides the first glimpse of what will be one of Garbage’s most immediate albums yet. Made in private locations that ooze with authenticity, Red Razor Sounds in L.A., Butch Vig’s Grunge Is Dead studio, and even Shirley Manson’s bedroom, the single mixes the intimacy of a whispered confession with the bite of a public reckoning.
“There’s No Future In Optimism” comes from raw reflection and righteous frustration. Coalesced by a band chat on the burden of The State Of It All and selected from Manson’s experiences in the post-George Floyd L.A., this track is a rallying cry. Her voice commands your attention. With each line, she transforms that grief, rage, and exhaustion into something blazingly beautiful. In her cadence, you can hear the streets of L.A. and feel the weight of protest signs in the bassline.
Billy Bush’s production weaves the track into something cinematic but not otherworldly, and Benjy Kirkman’s accompanying video adds a layer of haunting visual poetry. This is intent-of-the-art art forged in the crucible of calamity. Distorted guitars grind against electronic pulses, a storm of sound that captures the societal maelstrom it critiques. It calls for truth, action, and something real in an increasingly manufactured atmosphere.
“There’s No Future In Optimism” is a signal flare. A summons to feel, to think, to not look away. And if this single reflects what’s to come on “Let All That We Imagine Be The Light,” then we’re about to be streaked with light in the best possible way.
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