Rock band Garbage released a new music video for their song “Wolves,” on May 19, 2021. “Wolves” was released ahead of Garbage’s upcoming album, No Gods No Masters which is set to be released June 11, 2021. 

The video begins with the howling of wolves on either side of a figure with a lightbulb for a head. The video slowly zooms into that figures’s lightbulb as the song begins, the sound of an old projector clicking is noticeable among the wolf howls. The video begins in black and white, and is reminiscent of a magazine collage, with cutouts of marble statues and video of wolf heads littering the screen. As the song springs to life, there are small animated wolves dancing at the foot of one large wolf, sitting cross-legged in the center of the screen. The video’s animation uses several different art styles to depict its characters, including collage, marker, crayon and paint. 

The single is matched well by the video. It features heavy, driving guitar and switches between male and female vocals. “No one can say/That I didn’t need you/That I didn’t want you/That I didn’t love you,” sings Shirley Manson, lead vocalist for Garbage. As that build-up progresses, the guitar echoes the melody sung by Manson, mocking and reproachful. 

In the description of the music video, Manson said, “This is a song about inner conflict. About regret. About duality. In the past I have hurt so many people in my life, both knowingly and unknowingly… This song is an ode to that idea of: Who are you going to be as a person? Are you going to be a force of harm or are you going to try to do good in the world? A song about the struggle that exists inside ourselves as humans.” 

Other members of Garbage include Duke Erikson (bass), Steve Marker (guitar) and Butch Vig (drums). The band formed in 1993, in Madison, Wis. The band went on hiatus in 2008, before ultimately reuniting in 2011. 

Garbage previously released the title track for their upcoming album No Gods No Masters as well as “The Men Who Rule The World.” Past Garbage albums include Garbage (1995), Version 2.0 (1998), Beautiful Garbage (2001), Bleed Like Me (2005), Not Your Kind of People (2012) and Strange Little Birds (2016).

Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna