{"id":39753,"date":"2006-05-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-05-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/version-2-0-2\/"},"modified":"2006-05-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-05-11T00:00:00","slug":"version-2-0-2","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/version-2-0-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Version 2.0"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Rarely does a band have the balls to name an album
\nafter the contents inside accurately. Limp Bizkit did it with
\nResults May Vary<\/i>, likely a play on what a Limp album would
\nbe like without Wes Borland (awful). The Yes Album<\/i> was a
\nperfect summary of what that band was about. And Garbage basically
\nrewrites their debut album but tweaks it a bit for Version
\n2.0<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Befitting the title, most of the songs use more
\ncomputer-enhanced production and more glossy production than the
\ntitle, which at least felt like an alternative album and fit in
\nperfectly in 1995. This one falls prey to the sophomore slump by
\nmaking a simple mistake — it does not build on the promise of the
\ndebut, which to this day is still Garbage’s best work.<\/p>\n

The sound, the lyrics and the feel is all 90’s, and
\ncertainly Shirley Manson’s voice set against the pulsating
\ntechno-pop is alluring. She has a voice perfectly suited for
\nalternative music and lends a bit of charm to these rather bland
\nsongs, even if the music occasionally dips into rather obvious
\nteenage cliches (“When I grow up \/ I’ll be stable \/ When I grow up
\n\/ I’ll turn the tables \/Trying hard to fit among you,” for example,
\nor “Nobody gives a damn about me \/ Or anybody else”).<\/p>\n

Credit goes to Butch Vig and the rest of the
\nproduction team for dressing up this record with tons of echo and
\nsweeping, languid arrangements that make the music just float by.
\nUnfortunately, many of the songs are repetitive and lack substance,
\nand often end up sounding similar to both each other and their
\npeers on Garbage. “Special” starts off with a promising guitar riff
\nbut then degenerates into a standard Garbage song, which is true of
\nmost of the disc — a promise that rarely delivers.<\/p>\n

When the band gets a little edgy, the music improves
\ngreatly. “Hammering In My Head” offers a rather annoyed Manson
\nsinging\/speaking her words over a sped-up techno-lite beat. “Push
\nIt” is the best song here, driven by some great bass work and
\nethereal backup vocals that bridge the languid verses and the
\nharsher chorus — at least, until the middle, where Manson breaks
\ninto a Madonna-like whisper\/rap over escalating electronic drums.
\nThat two-song lineup is the best on the album.<\/p>\n

“Wicked Ways” is Manson at her pouty Deborah Harry
\nbest, but the band has a bit more grit than Blondie, even though
\nthey lack the pop hooks to make a truly memorable song. The closing
\n“You Look So Fine” is a moody closing jam that shows off what
\nManson does best, while the band keeps a steady erotic beat behind
\nher – this could be one of the best songs to get laid to that
\nnobody ever heard.<\/p>\n

But Version 2.0<\/i> ultimately falls by the
\nwayside in its attempt to value production over songwriting,
\nleaving a lingering thought that the band intends to make the same
\nrecord over and over. Whether this one is better than the debut is
\narguable, since both have their certain charm, but much like its
\noriginal release, the second version of Garbage is only halfway
\nsuccessful.<\/p>\n

<\/review><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":27554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5872],"rating":[5619],"class_list":["post-39753","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-garbage","rating-rating-c"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39753"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}