PLACEBO Vinilo y CD

Review: A series of Marc Moulin releases are on the way right now courtesy of various reissue projects and this one is pressed up on nice orange vinyl. The Belgian beatmaker is known for downtempo grooves but shows a different side here with two tracks alongside his band, later known as Placebo but here still known as Kiosk. 'Mona Call' is a busy and jazzy cut with dancing drums. 'Waterproof' arrives on the flip carries on in the same vein, with big horns bursting though the arrangement. These are two of the very many crucial tunes in the Moulin catalogue.

Review: It's not easy to articulate how much anticipation surrounded Never Let Me Go when it arrived in March 2022. Three years in the making (well, probably more, but recorded between 2019 and 2021), it broke around a decade of silence from the iconic epic rock band, marking their eighth studio album, and when we say 'broke', we really do mean breaking things. Big, emotionally-charged, stadium-filling things, that somehow resonate with a cross-generational audience united in the simple fact they're all humans.

Placebo have always been something of an oxymoron. Granted, not in the truest sense, nevertheless, it's hard to think go many guitar outfits that have simultaneously managed to sound so niche, while mastering the art of mass crossover appeal. Never Let Me Go only adds to their arsenal of weaponry, anthems-in-the-making, destined to soundtrack everything from births to breakups.

Review: The following quote from Placebo frontman Brian Molko will surely endure: "if the song serves to irritate the squares and the uptight, so gleefully be it." Such a statement pairs neatly with its originator's new album; 'Never Let Me Go' is a folky and alternative indie tirade against political tyranny, climate catastrophe and overhyped new tech. With Molko making the album after discovering that his "neighbours were spying on me on behalf of parties with a nefarious agenda", we can be sure this one'll feel a little more transgressive than the band's former dreamier output, 'Sleeping With Ghosts' springing to mind