| "Even Though Our Love Is Doomed" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byGarbage | ||||
| from the albumStrange Little Birds | ||||
| Recorded | 2013–2015 | |||
| Length | 5:26 | |||
| Label | Stunvolume | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Garbage | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Garbage singles chronology | ||||
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"Even Though Our Love Is Doomed" is a song by Americanalternative rock bandGarbage. It was released as the second single from the band's sixth studio albumStrange Little Birds on May 27, 2016, by their independent label Stunvolume.[1]
"Even Though Our Love Is Doomed" is aballad with electronic elements.[2][3] The song begins with abass line, around which the entire track was built by drummerButch Vig, before climaxing into the distortedoutro.[4]
Vig initially came up with the song's title while driving on the101 and wrote the melody and some words for the chorus. He recorded a few demos of it at home but didn't play them to the rest of the band as he didn't like them. A month later, singerShirley Manson, who loved the title, asked about the track and suggested Vig to record something simple. The next day, he wrote the entire song on bass guitar in 45 minutes in his home studio Grunge is Dead. After Manson had heard the track once, she fell in love with it and sang on it. The song went through a process of layering by the rest of the band, with bigger drums and more parts being added by guitaristsDuke Erikson andSteve Marker, before being stripped down to its final version, which is close to the original demo. "There was something about it that had a spontaneity or intensity to it because it feels like it’s holding back,” Vig explained.[5][6] The first take of the vocals was used in the final track.[7] Engineer and producerBilly Bush was tasked by Manson to "make theTelefunken [ELA M251] sound like a58" on the track, which he did throughequalization onLogic.[5]
Lyrically, Vig explained "the song is about how dysfunctional relationships can be and how complex they can be, but no matter how difficult they get you know in the back of your head there's still something worth fighting for and retaining. And sometimes you have to remind yourself that."[6] The lyric of the second verse "Such strange little birds / devoured by our obsession" gave the title to the album on which the song is featured. Manson expanded on the album title, explaining that "it's a perfect universal title for how we all as human beings look at each other and we all seem so strange to one another. And, you know, we're living in really chaotic times right now because of this very issue."[6]
In various instances, Garbage named the track "the heart of the record".[8][7][6]
"Even Though Our Love Is Doomed" was released as the second single fromStrange Little Birds following "Empty" on May 27, 2016. The band uploaded alyric video on their YouTube channel with scenes of big cats chasing prey in the wild as well as images of predators attacking each other.[9][2] A live performance recorded atEastWest Studios was uploaded to the band's channel on June 29.[10]
On June 16, 2017, the limited edition of the band's coffee table bookThis Is the Noise That Keeps Me Awake was released featuring a 12" EP containing a live performance of the song recorded at the band's show atRevention Music Center in Houston on September 6, 2016.
In 2022, the song was remastered byHeba Kadry and included in Garbage's thirdgreatest hits albumAnthology, out October 28.[11]
Jordan Blum ofPopMatters singled it out as "the highlight of the full-length, as well as one of the best compositions Garbage has ever crafted", defining the lyrics as "captivating" and the arrangement as "wonderfully chameleonic and mysterious".[12] Zenae Zukowski ofCryptic Rock defined the song as "another compelling piece where the music captures the moment of a relationship dwindling apart".[13] In her 7.0/10 review onPitchfork, Zoe Camp wrote "on the funereal choruses [of the song], Manson soberly proclaims the song’s titular sentiment to deliver a message of hope, not fear."[14]
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