Placebo/ Never Let Me Go

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Placebo/ Never Let Me Go

Genre: Alternative rock

Label: SO Recordings

Rating: ****

Placebo was one of the bands that sprung up in the mid-1990s Britpop/ alternative rock wave, led by Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Stereophonics and the like. To their advantage, they were cutting-edge in a unique way, with traces of punk energy lacing their songs.

Though vocalist-guitarist Brian Molko and guitarist-bassist Stefan Olsdal have stuck together, their drummer and tour musicians kept changing. Coming back after a nine-year studio break, they keep the percussion duties between themselves, playing multiple instruments as a duo.

Never Let Me Go is one cracker of album which proves that Placebo have never gone. Over 54 minutes and 13 songs, they create a string of gems, talking of drugs, bisexuality, androgyny, heartbreak, mortality, hope, redemption, frustration and an assortment of other themes. Sinking in after a few listens, it keeps getting deeper and deeper on repeat mode.

The boys crack the plot on the first track 'Forever Chemicals' itself, as a stunning guitar imtro is followed by the lines, "The memory drugs make memory snow, I think but I forgot, my imagination doesn't know where to go, so it goes to sleep instead". Brian's vocals flow.

The pop-friendly song 'Beautiful James' talks of alternative sexuality with the lines, "Take me by the hand, as we cross through battlefields, nobody understands because there's nobody at the wheel". On 'Hugz', Brian sings, "A joke is just another way of telling the truth, I know you're suspicious but you got no proof".

The songs are stylishly constructed, with guitars, synthesisers and rhythms in varied styles and moods. Many songs end with a repeated phrase, with marvellously layered instrumental back-up, a great example being the lines "Secret destroyers keep away" on the track ''Went Missing'.

Of the other gems, there's reference to the lack of privacy on the rhythm-heavy 'Surrounded By Spies', a tribute to departed ones on 'Happy Birthday In The Sky' and the feelings of a dying man on 'The Prodigal', where Brian sings, "I leave this world, a hopeful song, without a fear, I will prolong, my bruises healed, my scars are gone, and every beating, made me strong".

There's more brilliance on the second half, and specially recommended are 'Twin Demons', 'Fix Yourself', the piano-backed 'This Is What You Wanted' and 'Chemtrails', which talks of seeking a new direction with the lines, "I'm gonna find another island, and get the hell out of here".

Surely, this is a return to the earlier form of Placebo, and arguably their best album since Meds in 2006. Some 15 years on, they are naturally older and wiser, and it just shows on these songs that get headier and more intense with every repeat peg.