Album Review: Placebo - Loud Like Love

Striking for their love of big, dark '90s-flavoured rock melodies and colourful lyricism, Placebo became progressively softer 'round the edges in 2006's excellent Meds, and seventh record Loud Like Love continues the trend. It's a tough sell from the get-go; AC piano ballad ode-to-social-networking lead single Too Many Friends opens with a particularly nauseating: “My computer thinks I'm gay,” and, while the fuzz smack-down of Rob The Bank and stadium-sized synths of Scene Of The Crime offset this somewhat, it's not nearly enough to save this record considering Brian Molko's usual heart-tearing minor key melodies are largely missing.