Music: Placebo - Meds

Placebo
Meds
[Glam / Grunge]






Ok, Here's a confession; I've never really cared about Placebo. Don't get me wrong, I've never thought they were a bad band. Everyone has a soft spot for "Pure Morning" and "Special Needs", surely? But they've never really grabbed me enough to listen further. Well, that changed with this album. Why? Is it their best album? Is it incredibly inovative? Is it just really, really good?

No, no and no. The reason I had to review it is because two years ago this band released a "Best Of". And everyone knows that once a band has released a "Best Of", anything subsequent will be a shadow of their former work. (OK, so maybe it was a single collection and a live album, but in my opinion that equates to a "Best Of" at least.)

However, in Placebo's case, they've somehow managed to bypass the getting old and rubbish stage. What Meds is is a tight set of typical Placebo songs. It's not pushing envelopes, but it's so well crafted you probably won't mind. Sticking to that classic Placebo combination of distortion, distressed lyrics and melodic, ethereal passages, Molko and crew are still crafting emotional, sleazy songs about academic inadequacy, drugs (of both the legal and the non-legal variety) and kinky sex.

The album kicks off with a strong trio of songs (title track "Meds", new single "Infra-Red" and the lovely "Drag") which don't break any new ground but succeed in being catchy and touching. A blip on the radar comes from "Space Monkey" (filler if ever I've heard it), but things are back on track with the delicate but very depressing "Follow the Cops Back Home". "Post Blue" and "Because I Want You" are also good; but as a single choice I would have picked the former over the latter. "Blind" is take-it-or-leave it, leaning too hard on it's keyboard introduction.

It's the second half of the album that let's the side down somewhat. By this time the listener may be starting to find Brian Molko' s self pitying intonations somewhat wearying, and the songs aren't as good, either. "Pierrot The Clown" is another weepy; it's similarity to "Follow The Cops" does it no favours, but it's still a pretty little ditty. "Broken Promise" has a good piano line, but it's strangled by overpowered drums and guitar. By "One of a Kind", though, we are definitely into the low after Placebo's ketamine-induced high; both musically and in terms of quality. The song has nothing to particularly recommend it apart from a gimmicky guitar part that sounds like a child who's found something annoying to twang. "In The Cold Light Of Morning" we have another spooky downer; but it's not particularly good compared to "Cops" or "Pierrot"; at times it really does sound like a nasty hangover and not in a good way. I do appreciate the line "a cock in a dildo's disguise" though; gave me a giggle. "Song To Say Goodbye", which appropriately concludes the album, apparently saw an international single release. Heaven knows why, though, as it's not great; there is far better on offer here.

Really, though, whether you like this album depends on whether you like Placebo, replete with Molko's nasal serenading and self-conscious lyrics; "You got A on your algebra test, I lagged behind". If you do appreciate their style, you'll be relieved to know that the band don't seem to have lost their edge with age. If you can't stand it, this is not a new, radically changed Placebo which will win you over. But it is a Placebo on fine form, and, for a band I thought were finished, they firmly re-assert that they are not done yet. 73