Post-apocalyptic English glam rock outfit Placebo will release its fourth album, "Sleeping With Ghosts," April 1 through Astralwerks/Hut Recordings. The follow-up to 2000's "Black Market Music" was produced by Jim Abbiss, better known for his work with such electronic-leaning artists as DJ Shadow, Bjork, Massive Attack, and Sneaker Pimps.
"The idea of working with somebody who wasn't a big rock producer, and was going to challenge us on every level of our songwriting, really excited us," lead singer Brian Molko explains to Billboard.com. "When we go home we listen to a lot of electronica and sort of more beats-based stuff, simply because you spend a lot of time listening to distorted guitars when you're in a guitar band. It's something we're quite obsessed by."
Indeed, "Ghosts" often marries the spiky, dark rock of "Black Market Music" with electronics -- "This Picture" and "Second Sight" in particular alternate between buzzing guitar riffs and burbling synth choruses. However, solemn keyboards are the prominent feature on the title track and the haunted house-eerie "Protect Me From What I Want."
"We took an eight month break before we did this record," Molko says. "I think at that point we were able for the first time to get some distance from the roller coaster ride we had just been on for quite some time, take stock of what we achieved artistically and think about what experiments were successful, and what we do best as well."
Lyrically, the album focuses heavily on relationships and their aftermath, a fact Molko attributes to the time Placebo has taken off since its last album. "We'd kind of been existing in a bit of a bubble for all of that time, and it was time for us to reacquaint ourselves with everyday human contact, to step out of that bubble in order to have anything interesting to write about," he says.
The band will be touring the U.K. in April and wind around through the rest of Europe through June.
"The idea of working with somebody who wasn't a big rock producer, and was going to challenge us on every level of our songwriting, really excited us," lead singer Brian Molko explains to Billboard.com. "When we go home we listen to a lot of electronica and sort of more beats-based stuff, simply because you spend a lot of time listening to distorted guitars when you're in a guitar band. It's something we're quite obsessed by."
Indeed, "Ghosts" often marries the spiky, dark rock of "Black Market Music" with electronics -- "This Picture" and "Second Sight" in particular alternate between buzzing guitar riffs and burbling synth choruses. However, solemn keyboards are the prominent feature on the title track and the haunted house-eerie "Protect Me From What I Want."
"We took an eight month break before we did this record," Molko says. "I think at that point we were able for the first time to get some distance from the roller coaster ride we had just been on for quite some time, take stock of what we achieved artistically and think about what experiments were successful, and what we do best as well."
Lyrically, the album focuses heavily on relationships and their aftermath, a fact Molko attributes to the time Placebo has taken off since its last album. "We'd kind of been existing in a bit of a bubble for all of that time, and it was time for us to reacquaint ourselves with everyday human contact, to step out of that bubble in order to have anything interesting to write about," he says.
The band will be touring the U.K. in April and wind around through the rest of Europe through June.
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