Album reviews: Garbage – No Gods No Masters, and Maroon 5 – Jordi

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Get our Now Hear This email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Garbage – No Gods No Masters ★★★☆☆ It’s been over a quarter of a century since Garbage released their self-titled debut album, and with it introduced themselves to the world as alt-rock pioneers with something to say and a chart-topping way to say it. Responding to the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin, “Waiting For God” sees lead-singer and grunge idol Shirley Manson tell the story of a mother “choking on sadness with no hope for justice” as the methodical drums governing the track evaporate like steam, making space for a heavy-lidded synthy soundscape that wouldn’t be out of place on a film score. The album doles out small doses of riot grrrl nostalgia but for the most part, on No Gods No Masters, Garbage stretch beyond the gilded cage of their Nineties icon status to reach for something new – often, but not always, to effective ends. They’re now on album number seven, Jordi, named after the band’s late manager Jordan Feldstein, who died unexpectedly in 2017.