Garbage 
The Roundhouse, London
HHHHI

NOT so much trash as triumph, Garbage’s stand out show at the iconic Roundhouse called out oligarchs, hate and division and extolled making art, taking action, and trans rights, as well as just being yourself — no matter how strange or alien you may or may not be.

Formed some 30 years ago, the band has ploughed an idiosyncratic furrow. Comprising renowned producer Butch Vig on drums, as well as Steve Marker and Duke Erikson on guitars, the show is stolen by lead singer Shirley Manson who stalks the stage.

Opening with There’s No Future in Optimism — from the band’s eighth studio album Let All That We Imagine Be the Light — the song is a clarion call to take action, to live collectively and support one another. It’s a fitting start to an inclusive show and one that the audience eagerly follow.

It’s not long before they crank out anthems like I Think I’m Paranoid which sees Manson get the audience sing the signature chorus castigating the music industry, that’s followed by Stupid Girl which sees arms aloft and a rush forward to dance.  

Musically the night switches back and forth, from grunge-driven guitar rock to slower Nick Cave like numbers. There are hints of Siouxsie, even some shades of Echo and the Bunnymen, but in the main it is Garbage dishing out signature alt rock with a changing edge, whether channeling hard rock, grunge or electropop.

Chinese Fire Horse deals with ageism all round and gets a strong reception especially as Manson leaves the stage to sing in the audience. Castigating music journalists it’s an expletive guitar-driven rock out that holds no hostages to fortune, much like the band.

Before Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!) there’s a long tirade against the Labour government about attacks on trans rights and the fact that it should be targeting the real culprits, namely the oligarchs leeching from us all. The electropop groove ends with Manson calling on everybody to respect and love one another.

And so it continues, justifiable diatribes from Manson, off beat guitar grooves from Marker and Erikson, a buzzing bassline — provided by fifth touring member Nicole Fiorentino — all backed by Vig’s pounding drums drive a call for change and a place for the dispossessed and different to let their hair down.

The set closes with Only Happy When It Rains which goes down a storm. 

Mixing mainstream and left field, the music leads the way. As the lyrics guide you gently, the guitars drive momentum all propelled by Vig’s pounding beats, the result is a room embracing not just the music, but also the message, and perhaps leaving that little bit more committed to making the world a better place.

Playing Belfast July 17 and Dublin July 18 2026. For more information see: garbage.com