The cosmopolitan trio of Placebo (singer/guitarist Brian Molko is American; bassist Stefan Olsdal is Swedish; drummer Robert Schultzberg is Swiss) have refined their early art-rock forays into sharp slivers of bitter if somewhat camp glam/Gothic punk rock. Above all the seedy artsiness, however, stands the toy-boyish frame of lead-singer Molko, a man for whom excess once meant the be all and end all of self-expression. Nowadays, he is slightly more restrained and reflective, but still manages to churn out sleek punk rock ditties such as Taste In Men and Slave To The Wage (both hit singles taken from the band's latest album, Black Market Music). It's all a tad too showy and effete for some, but for many Placebo remain one of the few links to late 1970s bin-liner chic. Quaint ain't the word.
Placebo play Dublin's Olympia Theatre tomorrow night.
