Placebo - Loud Like Love Review

Placebo – Loud Like Love

Time is a cruel mistress. Placebo’s teenage angst-driven sadomasochism and androgyny served them well in the back end of the nineties and beginning of the naughties, it brought about one of the most loyal fan bases in the Alternative genre who will no doubt stand by them until the bitter end, but recently time has caught up on them like a cultural reaper and now landed them in a situation where new fans are going to be harder and harder to entice. One of the reasons why fans have always stuck to a band now turning twenty is the never changing aesthetics, musically and philosophically. They stick to what they know; they are scholars of cultural commentary and perfectly reflect that within their music, yet this comes as their downfall because they also ostracize new modern-thinking young adult minds, whose own social and cultural views no longer match as they once did.

Their latest album Loud Like Love continues that same model Placebo set in place years ago, if you are a Placebo fan then this album is great; it contains the soaring, screeching vocals of Brian Molko, distorted minor guitar chords that only a demon could create and the turbulent percussion to perfectly reflect that ‘angst’ that you've come to know and love. ‘Purify’ has that driven pace that could easily compete with the classics such as ‘Pure Morning’ and ‘Meds’. I could imagine this song live would fill each crowd member with endless adrenaline. ‘Begin the End’ is a perfect example of Placebo effectively creating an atmosphere that gives you butterflies and shakes you until you feel something explainable yet mesmerising, the haunting synth sets the scene then the effect-drenched guitar tears into the track like someone desperate for attention. This is perfect for a Placebo fan, the same feeling you would get when you share an in-joke with your best friend, but for a neutral this is more or less the nail on the coffin. Too many songs within this album feel outdated, tiresome and repetitive, songs such as ‘A Million Little Pieces’ and ‘Bosco’ suffer at the hands of the better tracks on the album and suffer hard, there is a such a big difference in quality, in terms of songwriting, execution and sustaining interest, it’s a worrying sign from the band that gave us ‘Special Needs’ and ‘Battle for the Sun’. This album gives a slightly unsubtle hint that Placebo’s best days are behind them and they’re not willing to adapt to stay afloat, without them realising it they've managed to create a project that only holds the average music goer at arm’s length.

There is, however, a saving a grace to this rather bleak observation and that lies with the track entitled ‘Too Many Friends’. This song gives a fresh philosophical outlook on modern technology; if you haven’t guessed Placebo are a tad anxious at the rate technology is advancing, especially within a social context. This song immediately draws you in with its first line: ‘My Computer thinks I’m gay...’ At first I thought this was self-parody to which exploits there realisation of their place in the musical spectrum but I soon realise that this is the start of the greatest lyrical reflection  of modern society that this band have written. The lyrics and their fit within the music are the centre of attention during this song, the vocal melody perfectly fits the message Molko is trying express and drags you deeper and deeper into their musical psyche. Yet the Guitar is the thing that stands out on this track; when the muted riff comes crashing into the second verse it’s like Velvet Revolver or Smashing Pumpkins have turned up to add to this contemporary ballad.

However ‘Too Many Friends’ doesn't do enough to distract us from this sinking feeling that Placebo have lost their place at the top of the Alternative Rock pyramid, they seem like a band who are starting to wind down, either that or time has finally caught up on them and is now passing them by.

Additional Notes:

·         Loud Like Love was produced by Adam Noble, who also produced Meds.

·         Too Many Friends needs another mention, it arguably props the rest of the album up.

·         If you like this album, then give Radiohead’s OK Computer a listen.