Placebo are a defiantly odd band, and always have been, sitting somewhere between flamboyant glam and angry punk posturing. Surfing in on the tail end of Britpop, they've defied the music press by remaining a going concern for six albums and about fifteen years. Probably, if we're being completely honest, because they've never raised their heads far enough above the parapet of popular culture to burn out like Oasis does every couple of years. Boasting more drummers than Spinal Tap, and the distinctive nasal mid-Atlantic vocals of Brian 'sex pixie' Molko, the band is, in the best tradition of UK middleweight rock groups, huge in Europe, and famous for ...  Read the complete review

Placebo - Battle for the Sun (2009) Producer: David Bottrill Kitty Litter Ashtray Heart Battle for the Sun For What It's Worth Devil in the Details Bright Lights Speak In Tongues The Never-Ending Why Julien Happy You're Gone Breathe Underwater Come Undone Kings of Medicine Released in 2009, Battle for the Sun is the sixth studio album by Placebo. The three year wait since previous record and career high-point, Meds, had been a long one for the fans. When at the start of 2009 Brian Molko announced that Placebo had finally recorded their new album and planned to release it in the ...  Read the complete review

I have been an avid Placebo fan ever since I heard 'Nancy Boy' back at the very start of their career, but I like to to think that I am still not so blinkered about them that I lap up and love everything that they release without so much as a second thought. I feel that they have produced a number of very good albums, without ever quite eliminating the 'filler' tracks which, let's face it, are in evidence on moreorless any album that you ever buy. From my point of view, 'Battle for the Sun', their sixth album (not including the greatest hits compliation), follows the pattern - when it is good, it is very very good, but it does at times lapse into ...  Read the complete review

'Battle for the Sun' is Placebo's sixth studio album, coming three years after 'Meds' which is about standard time between albums for them. I have found that Placebo's albums have been getting steadily better, excluding their second and finest album to date 'Without You I'm Nothing'. Placebo has a lot at stake this time. There has been a change to the band line up with Steve Forrest replacing Steve Hewitt on drums. They have also left Virgin records and self financed this record. If you are going to do that you better make sure it's a good release. Thankfully it is excellent. The sound is unmistakably Placebo but has a fresher and more ...  Read the complete review

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PLACEBO I normally wouldn't start a review with information about the artist/band in question. However, I would imagine that plenty of people reading this review don't actually know who Placebo are (they have never really been mainstream), so in this instance it seemed like a logical place to kick things off. Placebo are a British band that were formed in 1994, and despite the fact that you may not have heard of them (or may have heard of them, but can't instantly recall any of their songs) they have in fact enjoyed a significant amount of success, and have sold over one million albums in the UK. In terms of style of music, they ...  Read the complete review