Placebo
Meds

THE REVIEW

Before the album's release, Brian Molko stated that Placebo would return to their roots, setting aside electronics and distinctly focusing on simplicity (electric guitar/bass/drums). After listening to the album, it becomes immediately clear that the band's leader's statement was only a half-truth.

Compared to "Sleeping with Ghosts," the use of electronics has certainly been significantly downsized but not completely eliminated, as it is present in almost all songs, to varying extents. On the other hand, it's also true that Placebo chose to be simpler and not seek out alternative sounds, thereby creating their most mature album, juxtaposing electronics with indie rock proportionally. The album opens with "Meds," sung together with VV of The Kills; the initial guitar riff is similar to that of "Every You and Every Me" but the song soon changes, becoming a duet that flirts with obsession, 2 minutes (quite short) that are very powerful and disorienting, in which the chorus "Baby, did you forget to take your meds?" becomes obsessive and gets into your head. Then it moves to "Infra Red," a song with dark but somewhat banal and simplistic lyrics, accompanied by compelling and very powerful music. Here as well, we find the forced emphasis on madness and obsession: "Someone call the ambulance, there's gonna be an incident."

"Drag" is definitely the most classic placebo-esque song of the entire album; the melancholy and sadness that Placebo wanted to convey with this song feel very much like rehashed material that tries to wink at the group's origins but loses much compared to the other album tracks. The same goes for songs like "Follow the Cops Back Home" and "Because I Want You," which are explicitly aimed at the band's past but turn out to be the weakest. "Space Monkey," on the other hand, is an innovative song for Placebo; from the enigmatic lyrics to the sick but engaging and almost hypnotic sound, this song truly deserves to be remembered as one of Placebo's best efforts. "Post Blue" and "Blind" flow effortlessly and are both highly enjoyable, followed by a beautiful love song, "Pierrot the Clown." A refined and angry song at the same time, thanks to Molko's beautiful voice, it remains one of the best tracks on the album. "Broken Promise" somewhat disappoints expectations given the duet with Michael Stipe (leader of R.E.M.) but is certainly not a poorly executed song; it is simply an average Placebo song with the addition of Stipe's voice, which is moreover overshadowed by Molko's more exuberant voice.

In "One of a Kind," there is a very curious beginning, which then transitions to a song where the bass takes a significant role, resulting in something catchy and "precious." The album closes with two excellent songs, "In the Cold Light of Morning," a very, very beautiful homage to Leonard Cohen, a narcotized lullaby with a sound very different from that of Molko and co; in my opinion, it truly deserves recognition. "Song to Say Goodbye" is the single we all know by now, and even though it's not rock, it conveys the despair of the text (wonderful) and closes the album elegantly but especially with a see you later.

In summary, this "Meds" is truly an excellent album through which Placebo have managed to improve their music once again, even though some flaws are still present. If this band continues on this path, maturing their sound time after time, we could have one of the best rock bands of recent years (even though they already are) and will certainly be able to reserve a place of honor in the theater of rock music.