AMG Review of Battle for the Sun

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

Battle for the Sun, Placebo's sixth album, is given a steel-reinforced production by David Bottrill but the band remains resolutely pitched toward a niche audience. The increased care spent on the sound of Battle for the Sun emphasizes how the band's sound -- an extension of '80s goth, right down to its reflected love of '70s Bowie, but never unfriendly to any passing electronic fad -- is never quite hooky, nor does it have a rock kick. Everything about Battle for the Sun is coloring for the group's disaffected stance, not so much stylish but terminally out of time, alienation preserved in amber for those few who understand.