Search - Placebo :: Sleeping With Ghosts

These are sad and painful songs....i pity them

Bachelier | Ile de France | 10/08/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The good songs are The Bitter End, Plasticine, and This Picture.



Threatening, malevolent, depressing, cacophonous, and sad. They've succeeded in what they set out to do. Call me a bubble-gum pop pilgrim, but Placebo are more horrible than the Velvet Underground, since heroin was a vehicle of pleasure. These guys write songs so honestly morbid, without the comic backdrop of Shock Rock or Death Metal, that it is ultimately really depressing. This is music like a Francis Bacon or Lucian Freud in their "flesh is rotting meat" periods, a florescent lit autopsy of sonic deconstruction that reduces the fun parts of rock to steel. More artful and pop-tune driven than The Swanns, but just as depressing."

See You At The Bitter End

Robert I. Hedges | 05/07/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"On "Sleeping With Ghosts" Placebo presents an interesting musical melange of androgynous post-punk glam rock with very good musicianship (and very creative use of electronic and digital instruments and effects) and exceptionally strong lyrics. The instrumental work on the album is worth listening to repeatedly, and the songs are intelligent, though generally dark.



I was very taken with the lyrics on the CD, especially "The Bitter End". While the lyrics are themselves cutting and brilliant, the vocals from Brian Molko are perfectly suited to the material and contribute markedly to the edginess of the final album. The best song on the album is, by far, "Protect Me From What I Want" which is a bleak, haunting, brilliant, and beautiful piece of music. I love the instantaneous and wholly unexpected ending they chose for the song, which reminded me of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" from Abbey Road. It is an auditory choice that can't be made very often, but here it works perfectly (as it did for the Beatles) and counterpoints the stark and sinusoid nature of the song, while the guitar and drum interplay (and overdubs) are brilliantly executed making this my favorite Placebo song.



This is a great effort from Placebo, and I recommend it to anyone who wants a thoughtful yet edgy musical experience."