Sleeping with Ghosts

Placebo's albums regularly shot to respectable positions throughout the world, specifically in Europe, yet they did little in the U.S. The band's previous album, Black Market Music, had seen leader Brian Molko testing his audience for how much they'd accept in terms of personal revelations and musical adventure. For the follow-up Sleeping with Ghosts, Molko smooths over the rough edges and turns in his most subdued and sympathetic work. "Bulletproof Cupid" boasts the sort of electric guitars Sonic Youth would admire; throughout the album there's a tangible SY influence in the tonalities and a nod to that band in the lyrics. Yet the ghosts of relationships past also dominate the album. Where the British press had weighed on Molko's mind for Black Market Music—and full-on decadence was dominant previous to that—here the smell of old perfume is haunting. The title track nails a melancholy that's hard to shake. "I'll Be Yours" and "Protect Me from What I Want" veer into dangerous self-analysis and desire. "The Bitter End" displays the group's ability to nail down a perfect rock track when necessary.