Placebo's "Battle for the Sun" is, at its title promises, an abstract and somewhat unrelated collection of songs, sung with the disaffected nasal whine so common in so-called alt 'indie' guitar bands that it should be referred to by numbe nasal whinr, as in, disaffectede #1. The lead singer of Placebo seems to be hoping that by intoning certain phrases he will roust his listener into feeling something, even if he can only conceptually imagine what that something might be.
Take, for example, the title track. As he explains, he has "nothing left to say...say...say" hoping that the use of repetition will either make a hilariously ironic point, or simply drive everyone on the listening end to wonder why they bothered to buy this album. The last thing needed in this transitory media age is a band with nothing to say: we have plenty of unfocused noise as it is.
On the positive side, "Bright Lights" offers the listener a comforting blend of late 80's/early 90's Echo and the Bunnymen frenetic guitar wash blended with punkish, upbeat backing vocals that remind one of what Billy Corgan would have sounded like if he had been well-adjusted. Which is and is not a good thing for the listener.
Perhaps the final track, "In a Funk" is the most honest of the bunch. "I don't want to be alone," goes the lyric, and it seems true and almost compelling, until one realizes that instead of sparing us, Placebo has decided to wail about its boring uninsipired state in a highly produced setting.
Perhaps Placebo is just in a rut, but one hopes the band will regain some of the passion and joy that should inform their musical choices, even if their work isn't neccessarily upbeat in tone. A positive outlook should never be confused with artistic merit; but Placebo fails to provide satisfaction on either count.
Take, for example, the title track. As he explains, he has "nothing left to say...say...say" hoping that the use of repetition will either make a hilariously ironic point, or simply drive everyone on the listening end to wonder why they bothered to buy this album. The last thing needed in this transitory media age is a band with nothing to say: we have plenty of unfocused noise as it is.
On the positive side, "Bright Lights" offers the listener a comforting blend of late 80's/early 90's Echo and the Bunnymen frenetic guitar wash blended with punkish, upbeat backing vocals that remind one of what Billy Corgan would have sounded like if he had been well-adjusted. Which is and is not a good thing for the listener.
Perhaps the final track, "In a Funk" is the most honest of the bunch. "I don't want to be alone," goes the lyric, and it seems true and almost compelling, until one realizes that instead of sparing us, Placebo has decided to wail about its boring uninsipired state in a highly produced setting.
Perhaps Placebo is just in a rut, but one hopes the band will regain some of the passion and joy that should inform their musical choices, even if their work isn't neccessarily upbeat in tone. A positive outlook should never be confused with artistic merit; but Placebo fails to provide satisfaction on either count.
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New Placebo CD "Battle for the Sun" is, at its title promises, an abstract and somewhat mixed collection of songs, sung with the disaffected nasal whine so common in so-called alt 'indie' guitar bands that it should be referred to by number, as in, disaffected nasal whine #1.
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