I'm so pretentious...yes it's true (Black Market Music - Placebo)

Member Name: dreamerz

Product:	Black Market Music - Placebo
Date:	04/07/01 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Placebo's most consistent collection material yet

Disadvantages: The odd stinker

“I was never faithful / And I was never one to trust.” Well I’m glad that’s cleared up then. Truthfully if you take Mr Molko’s lyrics as autobiographical then you do come to the conclusion he may not be the nicest man in the world. But then again if you want ‘nice and safe’ pop stars you end up with the likes of Steps, a world full of Steps clones: what a hideous thought (actually wait hasn’t that already happened?). Still whatever else you think of Placebo, the tag Steps clone is unlikely ever to be applied, although the thought of H in a dress, eyeliner and nail varnish amuses.

Led by self confessed ‘sex dwarf’ Brian Molko, Placebo formed in 1994 and to date have got through, three albums, one drummer, uncountable numbers of eyeliners, lipsticks and of course several drug habits (*cough* sorry allegedly). ‘Black Market Music’ is their third LP to date, following the frenetic self-titled debut released in 1996 and the majestic, morose ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ in 1998. For the uninitiated the band sound like a strange fusion of spiky power pop and dramatic rock with a healthy measure of gothic pretension and punky attitude. Oh and a vocalist who sounds like he’s auditioning for Rush. Molko’s vocals are perhaps an acquired taste, high pitched, at times whiney at times snarling, he doesn’t have operatic range of say Mark from JJ72, although the hint of pre-pubescent around his singing remains. Despite this the vocals seem to fit the music perfectly and it makes a change to have dark gothically tinged music not being performed by a singer who thinks he’s the reincarnation of Dracula (see The Sisters of Mercy or Paradise Lost for further details).

‘Black Market Music’ was released in 2000, with two years having elapsed since their last album. The pre-release rumours it had to be said were not promising. They’ve
given up drugs (yeah right), they’re experimenting with different musical styles (Oh God they’re not about to do a Radiohead are they?), they’re co-producing (this way to the camp named delusions of grandeur). The lyrics will contain political comment (well that sounds like fun doesn’t it) and they’ve come for your children (oh wait been there and done that already). Thankfully whilst most of these rumours were in the end proved true the album wasn’t in fact the disappointment that threatened.

However, opening with flyer single ‘Taste in Men’ the signs were initially not good. Yes it’s Placebo go dance and yes that is the bass line to ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ you can hear in the background. Actually to be honest this isn’t really a dance track, unless you find easy to dance to robotic dirges, it merely appropriates some of the production tricks of the genre. Beginning with the aforementioned bass line, the drums soon kick in as does a typically Placebo wave of distorted guitar. Molko intones a fairly lazy lyric but it has to be said the vocal melody is nothing special at all. There’s also no discernible chorus, the closest we get is the line ‘Change your taste in men’ repeated ad infinitum. It’s perhaps unsurprising then that the track sunk without a trace on the radio. However, curiously on repeated listens the track becomes oddly addictive. Molko’s half spoken vocals that on a cursory listen revealed little, turn out to have a barbed hook buried deep within and end up stuck in your mind for hours. The music meanwhile is brilliantly atmospheric, the blasting distorted guitar solo in the middle and the heavy fuzzed up bass being particular highlights. Quite why Placebo released the track as a single however, is beyond me. It’s neither a reference point for the album as a whole nor much of a statement of intent. Perhaps they were just b
eing perverse.

Things don’t really seem to improve with ‘Days Before You Came’. If ‘Taste in Men’ was oddly experimental then this is clearly Placebo by numbers. One of a couple of tracks that make a fruitless attempt to rewrite ’36 Degrees’, it resembles a blitzkrieg rendition of every up-tempo Placebo track ever recorded. Starting with a fuzzy circular blast of guitar the thundering drums quickly enter shortly accompanied by another bored sounding Molko vocal. Clocking in at a brief 2 mins 25 the track certainly doesn’t outstay it’s welcome and there is little badly wrong with it as such, the chorus is average and as far as thrashy indie goes this is reasonable stuff. However, when listening one can’t shake the feeling Placebo have already done this kind of thing before but better.

Thankfully the quality control finally picks up with third single ‘Special K’. Much as I would love this track to have been about the great breakfast cereal, I am reliably informed that ‘Special K’ is also a type of drug (why am I not surprised?) which is commonly used for sedating horses. Banned from the radio for some slightly suspect lyrics, to which the band rather childishly retaliated by putting eight tracks on the single making it ineligible for chart placing, the song failed to secure the success you might have expected from such an accessible Placebo single. Surprisingly poppy, the song crashes into action propelled by a joint electric and acoustic riff, whilst Molko’s vocals finally convey some interest in his subject. Also notable are the curious, almost Motown doo-wop girl harmonies. After an excellent verse the song appears to head towards ’36 Degrees’ territory for the chorus before stopping dead and exploding into the real chorus which soars into a stomping good hook, perfect indie dance floor material. The lyric hold no great surprises, it
217;s the usual not terribly subtle love as a drug rush metaphor, although the odd line stick in the mind, “I’ll describe they way I feel / You’re my new Achilles heel.” Despite this, ‘Special K’ is an excellent track and finally reassures the listener Placebo have not lost it.

Second single ‘Slave to the Wage’ is also fantastic stuff. Brian and co have obviously been listening to their old New Order records recently as the track motors along powered by a Peter Hook aping melodic bass line. Brilliant synthesiser swirls and a powerful chorus add to the appeal as does the impassioned Molko vocal. Lyrically the track veers between the sublime, “Run away from all your boredom / Run away from all your whoredom.” To the ridiculous, “Sick and tired of Maggie’s barn / She’s a b**ch with broken arms.” I see, and by this you mean what exactly? But then this is to be expected from a Placebo record and doesn’t detract from the appeal of the song.

‘Black Eyed’ also sounds like its been touched by the hand of New Order, with the occasional synth blip and another pounding catchy bass line. The tension between the swirling unstructured verses and the tightly focused guitar frenzies of the chorus is intriguing whilst Molko turns in one of his best vocals, particularly during the chorus. The conversational, confessional lyric also impresses, standing out from the tedious drug references and the sea of slightly surreal imagery.

‘Spite and Malice’ is the other track to come out of Placebo’s experimentation with other musical genres. Featuring a guest rapper, spouting the mantra of the White Panther Party, “Dope, Guns, F***ing in the streets” and hip-hop-esque drum patterns, you might well expect this to be awful. Shockingly however, it works brilliantly, the thumping bass accompanying a nervy Molko vocal during the vers
e and a swirl of computerised guitar sweeping in during the rap sections. All this comes to a tremendous climax with a wonderfully timed vocal hook working in counterplay to the repeated “Dope Guns etc” line. All this capped off with a classic Placebo instrumental which threatens to collapse in a sea of distortion before pulling back spectacularly from the brink. ‘Spite and Malice’ is an excellent advertisement for co-operation between musical genres, and heaven knows there are few of those.

In general the album is far more up beat then ‘Without You I’m Nothing’, although for those who prefer the darker slower side of Placebo there are plenty of standouts. Central track ‘Blue American’ is a delicious sparse piano ballad. A dark chorusless track, the song ripples along atmospherically as Molko enquires “Who is Uncle Tom” and admits “I’m so pretentious / Yes it’s true”. Well you said it Brian. Bleak the track may be but there is a surprising air of delicate beauty to it, a dark almost ashamed confession in amongst a celebration of the gutter.

The final two tracks also remind of ‘Without You I’m Nothing’’s dark musings. Of the two ‘Narcoleptic’ is the weaker track, despite a lovely subtle bass line and restrained, intricate guitar work, the vocal melody is far to close to ‘Burger Queen’, to the extent I was tempted so sing ‘Luxemburger Queen’ during the refrain. The track does gain brownie points for a tender vocal and a wonderful middle eight, which does a lovely job of making depression seem strangely desirable but ultimately falls short of the bands best.

Closing track ‘Peeping Tom’ is on the other hand is as good a ballad as Placebo have ever produced, a delightful interplay between the pretty piano line and the slow high pitched squeals of guitar seals a terrific instru
mental arrangement whilst the melody floats along with almost effortless ease. The guitars are kept in close check throughout, threatening to rise up during the chorus but reined back sufficiently to keep the tension but not swamp the song.

The only evidence of the much-trumpeted political lyrical content is on the truly dreadful ‘Haemoglobin’. Molko claims the song is about racism, this may well be true, but his attempt at empathy with a lynched slave is cringeworthy and the thrashy tuneless drivel which accompanies it scarcely better.

That track and ‘Days Before You Came’ aside Placebo barely put a foot wrong here for what is undoubtedly their most consistent long player yet. Carefully mixing the spiky yet catchy vignettes of scuzzy indie pop from their debut with the epic bleakness of the follow up this is undoubtedly the finest distillation of the Placebo experience yet. True if you hate the band you’re unlikely to warm to this record but this is excellent stuff for the converted and a good starting point for those who have yet to experience their delights.

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