Niki N. Phaser

We had an article a few days ago about the battle (no pun intended) between Placebo’s latest indie efforts with their new album, Battle for the Sun and their ex-label’s (Virgin/EMI) attempt at banking on previous albums signed by the trio. Recent numbers, posted by Billboard, show that Molko and his Ste’s are winning this one. They’ve reached number one in the European Top 100 Albums, despite entering their native UK chart at 8. They’ve reached top spots in four other countries, including, of course, France, where they landed number one with each album since Black Market Music (2001). Top five spots have been assured in Holland, Finland, Switzerland, so the heavy touring really works. They are number one in Germany and Battle for the Sun was released there the day they headlined Rock am Ring. With this direction going so well and their agenda being full of summer festivals, followed by their own tour in the fall-winter season, we can’t help wondering what new heights are they going to reach.

Muse finally announced a release date for The Resistance, their new album. It is the 14th of September this very year. Even before there were any solid news about their new musical efforts, fans were buzzing at the possibility of the boys working on new material. Then, details slowly emerged and it seems they are planning to break the moulds once again, threatening us with “the hardest song ever” or big orchestral manoeuvres, never before seen. Considering their past, I think we should take them seriously and brace ourselves for some postmodern progressive rock.

Even drummer Dominic Howard is complaining about the size of these new things. Talking about learning to play the new setlist live he ponders “That should take a while“. No doubt about it, the wait will be worthwhile. The release date being in the beginning of the autumn and grand tours to follow, we are entitled to be expecting a single this summer. Hopefully, they woun’t break the moulds so much, as to not release a single. In fact, a free download is also in the fashion nowadays. Let’s hope they know that.

Placebo seem to have enraged “the machine” and, of course, by that I mean the labelzilla Virgin, who previously “owned” them for more than a decade. The trio decided to go indie and sign with a label (PIAS) only for distribution, paying themselves for their new album, Battle for the Sun. In recent interviews, they’ve admitted to not being very happy on the Virgin mothership, especially after the guys who brought them in, were fired.

To slap the wrist of the alternative idols and cash in one final check off of them, Virgin decided to release a boxset containing all Placebo albums, except the last one, of course, an album of B-sides, one of live recordings and two dvd’s. As if trying the “if you are a real fan”-blackmail wasn’t enough, the label decided to release the boxset on the 8th of June. For those unaware of recent Placebo history, this is the release date (announced in march) of Battle for the Sun.

So, is this a cautionary tale for bands leaving their violent, brutal, come-home-drunk-late-at-night-demanding-a-hot-meal labels? Well, not in Placebo’s case. Their record debuted in the top 10 in several countries, their gig-agenda is record-breaking (the british band with the most dates this summer). Everybody already knows that big labels are part of the “machine”, so I guess this is just another specific example.