Placebo’s new album, Loud Like Love, does not rise to the band’s usual heights. But, as Ramona Depares finds out, the alternative rockers have lost none of their edge performing live.

They’re the band that truly fits the cliché – you either love them or hate them. Frontman Brian Molko, him of the perfected androgynous look and the distinctive voice (often described as a nasal whine, but there you go) has as many enemies as he has fans. Not that this has stopped Placebo from going strong since 1994, selling over 11 million records worldwide on the strength of seven albums.

In case there’s any doubt, I count myself among the fans. Which is why, when I learnt that the last leg of their Loud Like Love tour was to be held in London while I happened to be there, I jumped through hoops to secure a ticket.

When news of Loud Like Love reached fans, reactions were mixed, as always. With the line-up change in 2007, when drummer Steve Hewitt left the band, a noticeable change in style was detected, with a more electronic feel running throughout the whole album. To a certain extent, Loud Like Love was a wild card that could go either way – old-school Placebo, which the majority of fans best love, or further experimentation with the new sound.

As it turned out, the new album is a mixture of both. Despite centering around love in its various permutations, it is far from reaching the level of raw emotion of its predecessors – all in all, an average showing, as admitted even by the most ardent of fans.

A fact that the band members themselves are probably very aware of, given that their new tour, which after all aims to promote it, gives us only six pieces out of the 10-track album. The concert was held at the 02 Academy in Brixton, a venue that I find perfectly suited to the purpose.

Thanks to its sloped floor, you are guaranteed a decent enough view practically from any spot in the standing section, which is where I was. Placebo were being supported by a psychedelic/ experimental rock outfit called Toy, which provided a pleasant enough, if mediocre, way to pass the time until the main event kicked off.

The main event kicked off rather disappointingly, with B3 – certainly not one of the band’s best tracks, and not exactly one that creates a vibe, either. This was rapidly followed by a spirited rendition of For What it’s Worth – no frills, no special interpretations, just a straightforward delivered track that kicked off the concert properly.

One of the new offerings from Loud Like Love was next, the titular track – not one of my favourites from the new album and, again, a very straightforward interpretation that only acquired some ‘life’ at the chorus.

This was in marked difference to Twenty Years, which was immediately greeted by shouts from the audience. This was a subdued Twenty Years, performed against a minimalistic set projecting Molko singing. It was the calm before the storm that erupted as soon as the first few bars from the next track’s intro were played – Every You, Every Me (famously part of the soundtrack of the movie Cruel Intentions).

With this track, the concert seemed to really come alive, with the light effects used to full effect and Molko going for extra oomph, shouting out – rather than just singing – the lyrics.

The singer was evidently enjoying the audience going wild, an acknowledgement that the band still has ‘it’, so to speak.

I found it very telling that none of the four songs chosen for the encore were taken from the new album

Every You, Every Me was followed by one of the best tracks off the new album, Too Many Friends. It is a track that is particularly apt to the times, speaking as it does of a life spent online to the neglect of real-life friends. Molko gives an extra touch of pathos to the line “My computer thinks I’m gay, what’s the difference anyway” – at one time, the singer had regretted his public admission of bisexuality, as he felt it deflected attention away from the music. It was also ironic to see everyone (myself included) with mobile phone raised, just as Molko belted out “when all the people do all day is stare into a phone”.

Scene of the Crime and A Million Little Pieces, both also from the new album, followed in an unremarkable fashion. Fillers, almost, until Speak in Tongues, and new offerings Rob the Bank and Purify came on.

Strong offerings from the new album, the latter two both got the crowd going wild – still, nowhere near as effective as the opening strains of Space Monkey. Here, Molko is at his intense, dark best, hissing out lines like “Space monkey is the place to be… raising the temperature a hundred degrees…”, his voice a seductive drawl, in disturbing contrast to the coldly uttered conclusion “and don’t let me down, like you let me down before”.

My personal favourite from the new album followed – Exit Wounds. Its eerie intro punctuated by a repetitive riff, Molko’s voice almost pleading into the mike, this track keeps to the tradition of the band’s favour-ite topic in a pained anthem to love.

From then on, the concert was vintage Placebo; a very deconstructed Meds saw the spotlight on Molko and his guitar, before the bass and drums finally kicked off in time for the chorus to give us the full effect of the track. Song to Say Goodbye and Special K both gathered the expected reactions, before everyone went crazy to the intro of Bitter End, where Molko’s voice was pretty much engulfed by that of the crowd.

I found it very telling that none of the four songs chosen for the encore were taken from the new album. Teenage Angst was followed by the poignant and beautifully executed Kate Bush cover, Running Up That Hill. The opening strains to Post Blue, also deconstructed to very good effect, and finally, Infra-Red brought the concert to a triumphant end.

Loud Like Love does not achieve the heights of Placebo’s previous albums, but the fans’ love for Molko remains as strong as ever. As does his charisma – although the occasions when he interacted with the crowd were few, the singer had a constant grin on his face. His greeting to London, and his tribute acknowledgement of other greats who have, before him, performed at the O2 (he mentioned PJ Harvey and Sonic Youth in particular), earned him immediate shouts and applause.

With the only discernible special effects being the occasional use of strobe lighting, the focus was constantly and primarily on Molko and, occasionally, on guitarist Stefan Olsdal, who gets to share the front with the lead singer. It is clear who the real Placebo stars are.