FEATURE:
Second Spin
Placebo - Sleeping with Ghosts
___________
SOME say…
IN THIS PHOTO: Placebo (Brian Molko centre) in 1997/PHOTO CREDIT: Pat Pope/Rex/Shutterstock
Placebo didn’t match the excellence of their eponymous debut (1996) and its follow-up, Without You I'm Nothing. That album especially (released in 1998) was one of my favourites from high school. With Placebo classics like Every You Every Me and Pure Morning, how could that album not receive huge acclaim?! Although their subsequent albums have gained enough praise, they have not scored the same big and consistent reviews as their earlier work. I feel their fourth studio album, Sleeping with Ghosts, is one that warrants new attention. Released in 2003, there were those who were kind. That being said, I have seen a lot of mixed reviews. Whilst not my favourite Placebo album, it is one that has some brilliant numbers on it. English Summer Rain and The Bitter End are among my favourite Placebo tracks. Perhaps a lack of Glam and the sort of stomp that greeted their first couple of albums meant that some critics were not willing to score Sleeping with Ghosts too highly. If you are not overly-familiar with Placebo’s back catalogue, I would urge people to give albums like Sleeping with Ghosts a spin (go back and check their first three albums). Before sourcing from a couple of reviews, here is some information about the themes explored on the album:
“Frontman Brian Molko, who is known to be a fan of the band Sonic Youth, references lyrics from their album Sister on "Plasticine" ("Beauty lies inside the eye of another youthful dream" directly references "Beauty lies in the eyes of another's dream" from Sonic Youth's "Beauty Lies in the Eye").
The album has several songs based on a theme of relationships, such as relationships that end badly ("The Bitter End"), power struggles in relationships ("Special Needs") or the idea that some are meant to be eternal soulmates (the title track). Brian Molko told Kerrang! magazine: "I'm looking back to what's happened in my past emotional decade, trying to understand it. Trying to exorcise the ghosts and the demons of relationships past. It's the old cliché of it being therapeutic but it does work for me in that way."
Another interview has Molko explaining:
The album title's about carrying the ghosts of your relationships with you, to the point where sometimes a smell or a situation or an item of clothing they bought brings a person back. For me it's about the relationship that you have with your memories. They inhabit your dreams sometimes. There can be a lot in the future that's gonna remind you of the ghost of relationships past. So I see the album as a collection of short stories about a handful of relationships. Most of them mine. In a way writing the songs helps me to get a lot of the nasty feelings off my chest and put them in a box, and therefore have a bit more of an objective discourse with those emotions because you've done something positive with them, you've rid yourself of them”.
Apart from a couple of weaker tracks ending the album, I wonder why a lot of critics were fairly harsh towards a strong album with plenty of highlights. Listening to it now, I am picking up on things that I might have missed when I listened back in 2003. I shall wrap things up in a bit. I think it is important to put together some reviews – to show what critics made of Sleeping with Ghosts.
When they sat down to listen to the album, AllMusic made the following observations. Whilst they found some positives, the overall tone was a little mixed:
“Since the band's 1996 self-titled debut, Placebo has penchant for delivering spiky, stylishly slick pop songs, in particular "Nancy Boy" and "Pure Morning." Brian Molko's femme-like vocals and androgynous appearance is matched with Stefan Olsdal and Steve Hewitt's solid glam-inspired instrumentation, giving Placebo a spot of its own in the typically cheeky Brit-pop scene. Fourth album Sleeping with Ghosts works with the band's post-grunge/experimental desire to keep things campy and emotionally intact; however, Placebo's a bit reserved this time around. While Without You I'm Nothing boasted a glam rock edge and Black Market Music captured more of a punk-glam polish, Sleeping With Ghosts crawls with mopish, gnarled ballads. "Bulletproof Cupid" is a vibrant album opener with classic guitar snarling, but the album's intensity quickly drops when "English Summer Rain"'s flimsy electronic bits lose step with Molko's dismal interpretation of nature. The electric riffs of "The Bitter End" stick with Placebo's frenzied rock style, and "Plasticine" and "Second Sight" are equally cool dark pop, but stand in contrast to the bigger standouts of "Taste in Men" from Black Market Music and "Every You Every Me" from Without You I'm Nothing. Placebo has an undeniable swagger, and any attempt to tame its overconfident character simply doesn't work. The whiny, synth-driven "Protect Me from What I Want" is a perfect example; Molko's sharp wit is much too literal in criticizing social conformity, typically mocking and self-deprecating as in the song "Special Needs." Sleeping with Ghosts doesn't venture out lyrically or sonically, but that's not to say it's a bad album. The members of Placebo, now in their early thirties, move beyond the spit and scowl of their previous albums, and new fans will find Sleeping with Ghosts to be a good record. Old fans, though, might think the band wimped out while growing up”.
Before I finish off, I want to quote from The A.V. Club. I feel their approach and discussion of Sleeping with Ghosts had more positives and pluses about it:
“Even though the European success of Placebo's first three albums hasn't translated into more than cult stardom in the U.S., the London glam-rock trio doesn't change much for its fourth full-length, Sleeping With Ghosts. The new disc continues to alternate frenzied guitar charges with spacey ballads and danceable pop, all derived from the angst and adventurousness of The Smashing Pumpkins, Rush, and David Bowie. The proggier elements of Placebo's sound have diminished over time, but the arena-filling ambition and the decadent posturing of high-voiced, warbling singer-guitarist Brian Molko remain. Molko and his bandmates are a gleaming ennui machine, converting romantic misery and punk aggression into polished, pretty expressions of melancholy. They also have the U.K. rocker gift for perfect singles, in this case "The Bitter End," a vague breakup prognosis set to the locomotive rumble of bass and drums and an increasingly ethereal set of propulsive guitar stings. Placebo matches that high point with a handful of others, including the upbeat loser anthem "This Picture," the pluck-and-fuzz guitar duet (and groupie kiss-off) "Special Needs," and the this-world-sucks-but-you're-beautiful dream-pop of the title track. Placebo may never reach an American audience past its established fans, but those fans ought to gravitate to Sleeping With Ghosts' uncluttered, moody niche.”.
Make sure that you check out Sleeping with Ghosts and give it some time. It is a solid album with only a few weak tracks. There is talk of a new Placebo album arriving this year. Having been going since 1994, Placebo show no signs of slowing! Whilst I am not smitten with all their albums, I do like Sleeping with Ghosts. It is one that, in my opinions, is worthy of…
BIGGER applause.