Don't take these meds

Placebo's professional career has spanned a full decade now and in that time they've released five studio albums, a greatest hits compilation, two DVD's, numerous B-sides and have been featured on various movie soundtracks. Through their unique combination of glam and synth rock, they've established fan bases all across the globe, as well as established themselves as one of the more significant bands to come out of the UK in the late '90s. I love Placebo and everything they've done, which is why it was difficult to give their fifth and newest album, Meds, negative praise.\n I put aside my loyalty to them and unfortunately found Meds to undoubtedly be their weakest and most unmemorable album yet. Granted, I still enjoyed the album because they're talented musicians, and I'm sure it'll grow on me with more listens, but Meds didn't seem to fit the musical direction they seemed to be heading in after 2003's Sleeping with Ghosts. \nFor many years, Placebo's front man, Brian Molko, wrote songs that were both gloomy and uplifting. His lyrics, as well as his lifestyle, dealt with dark and vulgar themes of drug use, sexual ambiguity and frustration, but he turned his angst into music that was honest, serious, aggressive, multi-layered and beautifully sung through his distinct nasally vocals. \nOn Meds, however, it feels like Placebo is trying to out-do themselves more than anything else, and it feels like they're in limbo between their old explicit themes of glam rock and decadence, and their more mature and apologetic side. Molko is in his mid-30's now and appears to be trying to show that Placebo can progress over time and still blow people away like they used to. \nIt's unclear what Meds is really about, but the title is evidence that Placebo's not over singing about melancholy and despair. And that's fine, because no one can pull it off like they do, but it's something that's become fairly boring, exhausted and not as convincing. \nThe opening track, which features Alison Mosshart from the garage rock band The Kills, sounds like a watered-down version of one of Placebo's greatest songs, "Every You is Every Me." Other collaborations on Meds include a track called "Broken Promise," which features R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe. \nIt's apparent that Placebo worked hard to make Meds a major turning point in their career, but that's mostly because they took so long to work on it. Usually when a band takes around three years to release a new album, it's because they've reinvented their sound in one way or another, but adversely, Placebo appears to be having some trouble in terms of straying from their roots. It's a decent effort, but they have much more potential than what's displayed on this album and it's nothing we haven't heard before.