Review Summary: I don't wanna keep going in the same progression
Placebo is an album largely focused on damaged people living in broken down places. It's about addiction, domestic abuse, and the vicious cycles created in violent homes. Vocalist Justin Cotton seems to be unfortunately familiar with all of this. With a vocal performance packed with emotion he sings, screams, and yes, even raps his way through some borderline uncomfortably personal topics. Despite the sadness that comes with the subject matter, there is an undeniable beauty in the honesty and the raw delivery. Though he certainly isn't the only talented member of The New Age, Justin is the one at the center of it all, and his performance will more than likely make or break the album for a lot of listeners.
This album has been in the making for quite some time. Too damn long, many fans of the band would say. The "Think Too Much Feel Too Little" EP came out four years ago and the band ran into many roadblocks while trying to get this album done. The EP was, for the most part, a full blown metalcore album, but here we find a large shift away from the speed and aggression previously on display. Placebo lands pretty firmly in the post-hardcore camp. Breakdowns have been replaced by atmosphere and keys, screams have been dialed back, in-your-face riffs have been replaced by massive melodies an overall larger soundscape. And it works.
Despite the sound shift, the new material still has their sound signature written all over it. The production is well done, emphasizing the big sound that the album is going for. You can even hear the bass guitar. The lead guitar gets some stand-out melodies, and surprises like the solo that comes ripping out of nowhere on "Save Me" are always welcome, but much of the focus here ends up being on the whole sound rather than the individual parts.
In a crowded space The New Age have managed to do enough to stand out. Perfect it is not, some of the experimentation was not quite to my liking, but they took some real swings, and that's worth something in a genre that can be oh so dull.
