Placebo Album: “Meds”

Wow. This really took me by surprise. After hearing it was supposedly much more "stripped down" compared to Sleeping With Ghosts, I feared the worst. Granted, Sleeping With Ghosts was my introduction to Placebo, and is much more appealing to me than their earlier work (which I do like, just not as much). I expected Meds to be much more organic and grungy, without the beautiful electronic textures that made Sleeping With Ghosts so warm and interesting. I was completely misled! Meds is far and away the best Placebo yet. There are still plenty of electronic touches and smooth, catchy melodies. And at the same time, it manages to rock your socks off.

The one thing I don't understand is their decision to make "Because I Want You" a single. It seems extremely out of place among the other tracks and is quite bland in comparison. It is by far the worst song on the album, and one of only two that I don't love (the other being the Michael Stipe duet, "Broken Promise").

There are so many other good tracks, though, it's unbelievable. My absolute favorites are the menacing "Infra-Red," the semi-experimental "Space Monkey," and the gorgeous ballad "Pierrot The Clown." Not far behind are "Drag," "Post Blue," and "Song To Say Goodbye."

I can't believe how many people think Meds and Sleeping With Ghosts are Placebo's worst. I couldn't disagree more with these people! Brian Molko and the boys have created a masterpiece. I typically listen to bands that lean slightly more toward the electro-pop or new wave end of the pop spectrum, and some of my favorite bands have released brilliant new albums this year... which is why I'm so shocked to find that I keep returning to Meds. Somehow it's managed to push its way to #1 on my list of 2006 releases. I love it.

This album sounds really good. The quality of production, mix and overall musicianship is great. However, creatively this album falls short of meeting fans' expectations at some points.

First of all, in terms of sound and feel, this album is like a mix of Without You I'm Nothing and Sleeping With Ghosts. And I think this is the bad part about it. This album does not really add anything extemely original or surprising to the rest of the Placebo Catalog. It is a GOOD Placebo album, but not a great alternative rock hit. And the sad thing is, if there was more originality and a better selection of slow songs, it could very well be one of the best placebo and alternative rock albums this year.

This is their fifth album, so one would expect them to improve the changes they've been going through since 2000, (starting with Black Market Music), and start writing more original, deeper and mature songs, but despite the fancy production and some elctronic elements, nothing has changed since the first album in terms of creativity in their song structures.

As a Placebo fan, I liked this record, but have to admit that I was expecting more. Lyrics are immature and meaningless, in general. One can't see the great lyric-writing that was the best part about Without You I'm Nothing, in this album. They had to have better, more mature, more creative lyrics; lyrics that make more sense than telling us how depressed and drugged Brian is; because we already know that, the previous FOUR albums made that crystal clear, they really gotta move on from these subjects. Songwise, Infra-Red, Space Monkey, Drag, Post Blue and Because I want You are typical fast tempo, rocking placebo hits; they are fine but don't expect nothing new. Especially slow songs really bring the tempo down a lot and mess up the album in general (and I think this is always the case with Placebo albums, except for the greatly done, deep and original slow songs in Without You I'm Nothing). Because songs such as Follow the Cops Back Home, Blind and Pierrot the Clown, makes me say "are these songs really needed in this album?" Because they lack meaning and musical catchiness; and they are well below placebo's songwriting average. Instead of these songs, if they'd put faster and better tracks, that could be a great alternative rock cd. The problem with this cd is, instead of a slow hit like "My Sweet Prince", there are those weird and boring songs like "pierrot.." and "follow the cops"; which really messes up the album and makes you wanna skip these tracks. But again, the album is marked by the huge ego of Brian Molko and his whinings about how depressed he is. I thought the duet Broken Promise is a good song but Michael Stipe sucks in that song, he has such a small part in that song and it just doesn't really work,.

Again, for placebo lovers and "depressed teenagers", this is a great alternative rock album, but as a hardcore and old placebo fan, I thought that they had to come up with much original and better material than this, especially three years after the lackluster Sleeping With the Ghosts.

As a Placebo fan of nearly ten years, I must say Meds is the jewel in the crown of Placebo's musical crown. I recall reading in an interview that with this album they went back to their more guitar-driven rock song of the their first self-titled album. I'm glad they did. While I've enjoyed all of their albums, this is probably my favorite. My favorite tracks include Meds, Infared and Because I Want You. All 3 are classic Placebo tracks full of glam, sorry, manic energy and the nasal stylings of the lovely Brian Molko. I recommend this as a great place for any newbie Placebo fan to start and work back from there. Any way you cut it, Placebo is a band that puts out solid albums time and time again. A classic band.

Wow, ten out of five stars for me as well. I wasn't expecting Meds to be this great. After 3 spins it's become my favorite, topping even their debut album. Placebo was a band I didn't want to like when they started but there's no denying their talent and now they're my favorite band of the past ten years. Totally humble and true to the craft. I can't believe the impressive catalogue of songs they're amassing. There's some great guitar work on this album and as always the bass play is solid and the drumming's amazing. Plus the insert has boobies, what more could you want? I'm glad they haven't accumulated an overwhelming following in the states yet so I can still see this amazing band in a decent sized venue opposed to an overcrowded arena.

Well i bought this album recently and i must say i find it rather impressive. I own all placebo's albums and whilst isn't as good as 'without you im nothing' or 'placebo' it is far far better than 'sleeping with ghosts'. I like the way it incorporates all placebo's talents which have been seen in earlier albums. Having said that, although musically the album is different - slower - there is still the classic twisted, yet relatable placebo lyrics. Best songs on album: follow the cops back home, blind, pierrot the clown, and infra red. Would reccomend anyone to give this album a try even if you dont like it at first, it will definitley grow on you!

If you are new to the placebo world, i would try buying an older album first so you can see what the real placebo is like before buyin this one. The best album by far is 'without you im nothing'<<<