Little Raped Riding Hood

Ok, I'll admit it: a new Placebo album was no hot news for me. It was more of an "oh...?" sort of news. After DM's "sounds of the universe", these guys come up with "battle for the sun" and it makes me wonder if everyone's gone cosmic these days. 

Anyway.

I was skeptical, to say the least. I pressed play and went to the kitchen for a coffee, convinced that I wouldn't miss much. A minute or so into the song, the boys got angry and forced me to listen with both ears. The song wasn't half bad, actually. It's still Placebo, mind you, still the not-too-complex-or-we'll-lose-the-kids approach to music, but with violins in the background this time, so at least they try to grow out of it. The song has balls and we like that, yes yes. But, as always, it doesn't really matter if they decide to go all Sepultura on us, Molko's voice will surely be able to make the atomic bomb sound like a condom filled with water splashed onto the pavement. His androgynous appearance may have been a plus in the 90s, but the fact that he sounds like Paris Hilton gang-banged by flamingos on every single song doesn't really help his credibility. Maybe that's why most of their songs deal with heartbreak and fucked up relationships, it's probably what he knows best. 

All in all, though, this is not a bad song. It's not exceptional, nothing breathtaking, but it makes your ass swing and that's really all you can ask from a Placebo song. Job well done, guys!

Placebo - battle for the sun