Placebo are a huge, quirky and interesting band. They’re also, I confess, one about which I know very little. I was at university when “Nancy Boy” was released, and it’s part of my life soundtrack, but I never really followed the band after that. However, we get a deluge of material coming in each day and for some reason Never Let Me Go caught my eye. Here’s something from a name I’m familiar with, but where I have no real idea how their sound has changed since that rather big hit all those years ago.
So I plucked it from the pile.
It’s a decent length at thirteen tracks, and the opening notes are typically WTF. Discordant strikes like distorted tubular bells [turns out it’s a drum machine using a harp sample which is then distorted – Mosh], lead into fuzzy guitars and a funky rhythm. And then Molko’s voice. Good grief, it is still unmistakable after all these years. Even if I hadn’t known what band I was listening to, I’d have guessed by the time I was a minute in purely from listening to the singing. “Forever Chemicals” is a trippy, industrial-influenced, emo-tinged number. Molko plays down the emotions in the lyrics in a manner that brings to mind the sorely missed Peter Steele. Simply, it’s a great, imaginative rock song. Colour me pleasantly impressed.
If I wasn’t sold by the time that one faded out, the synth-heavy flow of “Beautiful James” pulled me right in. This one’s already been shared by the band, and it’s a great choice for a single. Accessible, emotive and targeting one of the band’s most well-known subjects – non-hetero lifestyles and people. It’s a really lovely song, all the better for carrying an important message. “Hugz” is more of a rocking tub-thumper (with an opening line stolen from Doctor Who of all places!), making the opening three-song salvo a perfectly varied example of why there’s no real pigeon-holing the Placebo of today.
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This is probably the biggest selling point of the album, and one which might even pull in a wealth of new fans. There’s something here to please everyone, with each track having a hook that might well pull you in if you initially think you’ll only like one subsection of their output. Come for “Happy Birthday In The Sky”, stay for “The Prodigal”. The latter, by the way, one of the highlights on an album that’s full of them. The addition of strings in this one set it out and make it audibly sparkle. “Sad White Reggae” is a sneaky bugger, being pretty downbeat in of its “story”, but also being a bit of a rocker.
I’d not call Never Let Me Go a toe-tapper, or a roller-coaster as such. It’s more a slightly eclectic mixture of songs, each of which has its own personality and is steeped in meaning. It’s almost like a “best of” collection of songs that haven’t been released yet.
Sometimes it’s very much worth walking into a situation blind and just seeing where life takes you. Reviewing this album was a (relatively risk free) example of this for me, and it’s paid off. Never Let Me Go is definitely something I’ll be returning to.
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Never Let Me Go is out on March 25th – pre-orders available now
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