Garbage - "Let All That We Imagine Be The Light" : new release

Led by ferocious truth-teller Shirley Manson, Garbage are as uncompromising as ever on their eighth album. Buzzsawing guitars with electroplated keyboard accents and basslines abound, particularly on the standout Chinese Fire Horse. Vocally, Manson channels Chrissie Hynde and lays into ageist and sexist fools who underestimate her.

But, like every Garbage album, Let All That We Imagine Be The Light finds the band stretching out into new sonic directions.

The ominous Have We Met (The Void) resembles the soundtrack to a haunted house rave, between its spooky synth work, danceable grooves and Manson's theatrical distorted- coated vocals, while the more experimental Radical boasts the imprint of The Cure in the form of a languid tempo, spidery guitars and dark textures.

In the end, however, the album possesses an optimistic streak. Opening track There's No Future In Optimism references a frightening scene ("The city's on fire and the sirens are screaming") but encourages people to push forward anyway: "You and I, we have a chance/ We could leave this place and rewrite our romance."

Luckily for us, 30 years since their debut, Garbage are still writing potent new chapters.