''Angelfish'' is the 1994 debut and only

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

released by

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

group Angelfish, fronted by

Shirley Manson Shirley Ann Manson FRSA (born 26 August 1966) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and musician who is the lead singer of the rock band Garbage. Known for her distinctive deep voice, forthright style, and rebellious attitude, her accolades include ...

. The ''Angelfish'' album was born out of necessity when Goodbye Mr Mackenzie's record distributor MCA expressed interest in recording an album with Manson on lead vocals rather than furthering its commitment to the Mackenzies. The Mackenzies'

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

boss

Gary Kurfirst Gary Kurfirst (8 July 1947 – 13 January 2009) was an American music promoter, producer, manager, publisher, and record label executive. Kurfirst founded Radioactive Records, whose acts included Live, Black Grape, Ramones, Big Audio Dynami ...

signed Manson as a solo artist, with the remaining Mackenzies performing as her backing band to circumvent the band's existing deal with MCA. Two releases promoted the album; the first an EP, '' Suffocate Me'' was released mid-1993, while the second, "Heartbreak to Hate", was released to radio at the time of the album's release. The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Suffocate Me" famously aired once by

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

during ''

120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the Alternative rock, alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After it ...

'', where it was seen by

Garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or ...

co-founder

Steve Marker Steven W. Marker (born March 16, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the co–founder and guitarist of the alternative rock band Garbage. Previously an audio engineer for the band Fire Town with future ...

. Manson was asked to join Garbage, and accepted.153 F.Supp.2d 462 RADIOACTIVE, J.V., Plaintiff, v. Shirley MANSON, Defendant. No. 01 Civ.1948(SAS).

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district. Each district cov ...

, S.D. New York. (29 July 2001) The Angelfish side-project was dissolved, while Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie continued on for another two years without Manson.

Recording

The songs that make up both ''Angelfish'' and the Mackenzie album '' Five'' were written at the same time, between June 1991 and December 1992. "Those albums," states Martin Metcalfe, "are brother and sister." The recording sessions for the album took ten days over March 1993, enough time to lay down backing tracks for seventeen songs.

Track listing

All songs by Angelfish, except where noted. # "Dogs in a Cage" – 2:34 # " Suffocate Me" – 3:40 # "You Can Love Her" (

Holly Vincent ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody Dioecy, dioecious angiosperm genus. Th ...

) – 3:48 # "King of the World" – 3:03 # "Sleep with Me" – 3:21 # "Heartbreak to Hate" – 4:15 # "The Sun Won't Shine" – 3:52 # "Mummy Can't Drive" – 3:57 # "Tomorrow Forever" – 3:30 # "The End" (Martin Metcalfe, Neil Baldwin, Derek Kelly) – 4:25

Critical response

''Angelfish'' received a positive response from contemporary music critics and journalists. Barry Egan of ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American rock music magazine and entertainment company, founded in Detroit, whose initial print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor ...

'' wrote: "Their self-titled debut displays the kind of out-of-kilter charm and intensity that most artists can only lie about possessing... this is indeed a record that owes much to Scotland's

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...

as it does to

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

's feel-good dark angels,

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

." In the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' trade publication, their alternative reviewer wrote "An interesting sound... one that recalls elements of early Blondie and

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

Release history

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, ''Angelfish'' remains an import-only release, distributed by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. Most copies come with a "featuring Shirley Manson of Garbage" sticker. On February 23, 2021, ''Angelfish'' was released worldwide to digital music/streaming platforms.

Chart positions and sales

Credits

* Vocals: Shirley Manson * Producers:

Chris Frantz Charton Christopher Frantz (born May 8, 1951) is an American musician and record producer. He is the drummer for both Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, both of which he co-founded with wife and Talking Heads bassist, Tina Weymouth. In 2002, Frant ...

and

Tina Weymouth Martina Michèle Weymouth ( ; born November 22, 1950) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and a founding member and bassist of the new wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club, which she co-founded with her husband, ...

* Executive producer:

* All songs written and arranged by Angelfish, except "You Can Love Her" written by Holly Vincent and "The End" written by Martin Metcalfe, Derek Kelly and Neil Baldwin.

References

External links

Official website
Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie & Angelfish
Angelfish fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelfish (Album) Garbage (band) 1994 debut albums Albums produced by Chris Frantz Albums produced by Tina Weymouth MCA Records albums Radioactive Records albums