Battle for the Sun Album

What is a “Battle for the Sun,” and why would anyone imagine that it would make for a particularly great musical concept? Placebo, a UK band formed in 1994, took their name not from the placeholder that pretends to be a drug but rather from the root Latin, meaning “to please.” Which should be a red flag to anyone that this band possesses very little in the way of concrete opinions. The notion behind artistry is to realize one’s unique vision in a world of sameness; Placebo, unfortunately, fail to deliver.

Take, for example, the title track. As he explains, he has “nothing left to say…say…say” hoping that the use of repetition will either make a hilariously ironic point, or simply drive everyone on the listening end to wonder why they bothered to buy this album. The last thing needed in this transitory media age is a band with nothing to say: we have plenty of unfocused noise as it is.

The guitars are amped up to sound less like instruments and more like the tuneless wallow of grunge from which the band’s musical style emerged. Not that there was anything wrong with the original grunge. At least that music had passion. Aside from the tuenful blast of “Bright Lights,” which will get your feet tapping, even though it fails to fire any synapses or heart strings, the majority of “Battle of the Sun” is recycled and lukewarm.

In this case, “Bright Lights” is anthemic without being particularly meaningful; it allows the listener a temporary harmonic reprieve from the rest of the album, which sinks into dirge-like bass and unimaginative lyrics. Placebo’s problem is that they seemingly began listening to music in 1995, and then switched off all auditory input in 1996.

Music doesn’t have to be upbeat to be good, but it should never be boring. Placebo does not win the battle.