Only Happy When It Rains, Garbage’s wry celebration of the darker sides of life, which introduced some much-needed electronic sparkle to the post-grunge rock landscape, predates the arrival of the band’s peerless frontwoman Shirley Manson, but it’s impossible to imagine anyone else embodying the song so perfectly. It’s also difficult to believe it’s been almost 30 years since its release – even now it sounds thrillingly futuristic.
Its bones had been built by guitarists/ bassists Duke Erikson and Steve Marker and drummer Butch Vig, the latter still surfing the critical and commercial success of his production work on Nirvana’s era-defining album. Radio at the time was still stuffed with earnest young men riding those coattails and airing their emotional pain in a bid for stardom. But
