imageYes, those are guys in that photo. That’s the rock band, Placebo, who recently released Black Market Music, a simple, yet fresh sounding album which promises to win them lots of new fans. It’s uncertain as to whether these guys will ever break into the mainstream, but their high energy approach and sense of artistic style give them an edge that’s missing in today’s music scene.

Placebo delivers blunt, opinionated lyrics and easily palpable guitar licks. Most of their uniqueness stems from the freakish allure of intriguing vocals and cleverly layered instrumentation. They sound like nobody else, and while they don’t play like showoff arena rockers, their energy alone shows they mean business.

Or do they?

I’ve heard that the lead singer is busy being a DJ and a bunch of other silly things. That sounds fine, but I do hope that this band develops some new dedication to a long-term musical project soon. Black Market Music shows a band with infinite potential, calling to mind some of the early sparks of genius in The Cure. Lately, TV and radio has been promoting a few bands like White Stripes and The Strokes, showing a reluctant move towards music that doesn’t suck… Also, that “Indy” feel is something that’s become increasingly marketable to the College Radio crowd. Placebo has been down in this trench for a little while now and hasn’t really gotten the chance it deserves. Hopefully, with some of these new acts starting to crop up,.Placebo’s powerhouse potential will be noticed and exploited by a major label push.

They don’t strike me as the type of band that is “ready” for that sort of thing, nor is the music climate quite ready for them. It’s quite likely that Placebo will never get past an Indy following, which is probably just fine with their current fans and the band members, too. Though, what it means is that Placebo might not be pushed to reach their full potential, and instead of releasing something like Disintegration in a few years, they might be off doing individual projects.

Whatever works for them is fine, but if you’re at all interested in this band, they’re worth the effort. Don’t wait to get a listen to Placebo. Bands like that don’t come around all the time, and if music doesn’t change gears in coming months, it might be less likely that deserving bands even graze the spotlight.

-Hazzard