Album Review: 'Battle for the Sun' by Placebo (Written in 2009 following the albums release)

Placebo, the band who sound tracked adolescence and self discovery, have returned with a mature reflection on their gritty, emotionally honest and somewhat self indulgent predecessors with their new album Battle For The Sun. “All of my wrongs … come back to haunt me” seems to be the perfect lyric as Placebo regress back to their angst filled years with new drummer onboard, Steve Forrest.

‘Kitty litter’ is the perfect opening track, being fast paced yet melancholic and echoing classic titles from Black Market Music like ‘Special K’. Fans who were unimpressed with their previous album Meds will certainly recognise their token anthemic sound returning in the following track ‘Ashtray Heart’ and later on in ‘Bright lights’. Both songs capture that blurry feeling as life passes by just as Sleeping With Ghosts did with ‘This Picture’ and ‘Bitter End’.

Title track ‘Battle For The Sun’ offers a refreshment for old fans who, despite revelling in their old sound, want to hear something fresh. For the new fans however, this is the track that you will not be able to shake from your head and god knows you will be checking their backlog after this. ‘Devil In The Details’ and ‘Speak In Tongues’ bring the tone back down to an angry reflection of things past much like ‘Black Eyed’ did, however this time with a more thorough and adult angle. I’m not sure how these two tracks serve the album in that they seem to lack that Placebo edge that made the band who they are. A sign, I think, that that the naivety and confusion that we all experienced with them has moved on, both in their lives and their music.

Nevertheless, ‘Julien’ brings us back to ‘Battle Of The Sun’ with that powerful bass and ‘Happy You’re Gone’ reminds us of the innovation and spark that we have all grown to love about Placebo. For new fans, this album will certainly give you the perfect taster of what these guys were and are about. On the other hand, if you are a die-hard old school fan and you want to hear some classic Placebo, they deliver.

8/10