Liberation through pathos: The 90s glam rock icons reinterpret their well-aged debut.
“There’s nothing wrong with this record,” said Placebo singer Brian Molko in a recent interview with Frontstage magazine. “We see the album as a kind of directors cut, we wanted to bring it sonically into the 21st century.” 30 years ago, the band’s self-titled debut album was released, which contrasted the rampant camaraderie in current rock and caused some confusion, at least in bro pub circles, because Molko wanted to be found sexy by men at first glance because of his consciously displayed feminine attributes.
He was way ahead – and literally out of place in the MTV world of the 90s. A revised version of PLACEBO is now being published. The basis for this was the master tapes, the band built it from scratch, leaving the columns standing, but modernizing the temple and expanding its halls. The album can breathe so differently, it has taken on a greater urgency. “Nancy Boy”, “Swallow”, Bionic – at the end of the day there is the greatest respect left for the band, which with its condensed sound and Molko’s aggressively shimmering voice addressed the teenage outsiderness of an entire generation worldwide and gave comfort to those who were stuck between tree and bark.
Liberation through pathos. Some tracks have become faster on the new edition, guitars have been mixed forward, and electronic embellishments have been omitted. It’s fun to compare both versions. And you come to the conclusion that PLACEBO has aged really well.