Sculpture Magazine

After the dark and depressing record Meds in 2006 Placebo are back with their new record Battle For The Sun.  On the new album, they stated, they wanted to step out of the dark and into the light but can there be light without darkness?

Placebo has been in an emotional crisis after their last tour. As a result the drummer Steve Hewitt left the band. They have been sick of their routine they got in the last 15 years, and needed some new positive energy to do a fresh start so they enlisted a new drummer, Steve Forest. "We were looking for somebody whose enthusiasm could rub off on us," said Brian. "Someone who would experience all of these things that we'd already experienced for the first time and for their excitement to raise us up out of our jadedness and make us into kids again." So they adopted a totally new concept, with a new drummer, new ideas, new instruments and a new label. But does it work? Wasn`t the dark sound an important part of Placebo, that often sounded sparkling and positive?

It seems that the name of their album is their motto for the whole recording session. It starts with that unmistakably Placebo sound on the song "Kitty Litter" where Brian "I need a change of skin" screams. With the first single "Battle for the Sun" they are setting a sign, a sign of their new enthusiasm and excitement in their band. Owing to this it appears that the battle for the sun is already arranged, battled, and won. So distinctive Placebo styles are matching together with new wonderful elements. The title song is one of the best they have ever made and old and new Placebo fans should love it.

You can hear this new freshness in a song like "The Never Ending Why", as it sputters up from happiness and makes you want to dance.  This is very far removed from the old Placebo sound.  But this new sound still includes Brian Molkos` distinctive vocals, as you can hear in songs like "Happy You Are Gone, "For What It`s Worth" and "Ashtray Heart", as the two latter songs have that made for the radio sound to them.

All the new influences seem to be good, but I think that there are a few problems. In nearly every song the common melancholy resonates, mostly in Brian's voice. Honestly, I miss songs where everything centers on this melancholy, because this is real Placebo for me, and I guess for many others as well.  The new drummer reacts more in the foreground than the old, and this unfortunately makes the whole album more rocky, more not Placebo  Their fans might miss songs with small hushed details like in "Follow The Cops Back Home", or "Commercial For Levi".  I prefer to recognize the new elements in the song  "Julien", as it starts with a brilliant dance floor beat that feels awesome.  

All in all "Battle For The Sun" is a colorful, diversified work. In an interview the band said that they wanted to make an album like this, so they have done it well. But Mr Molko, for the next time I wish to bring back a bit more melancholy.

Track List

01. Kitty Litter
02. Ashtray Heart
03. Battle For The Sun
04. For What Its Worth
05. Devil In The Details
06. Bright Lights
07. Speak In Tongues
08. The Never-Ending Why
09. Julien
10. Happy Youre Gone
11. Breathe Underwater
12. Come Undone
13. Kings Of Medicine