The British press never tire of making mayhem over guys who wear eyeliner and occasionally perform in drag after getting in fistfights with other bands.

 

"We fucking detest the British press with a passion," Hewitt told Signum in a recent interview, as the band prepared for their American tour and the release of their third album, Black Market Music. "It’s the classic thing: they build you up, and build you up, and then they knock you down. But we’re not going down. That’s the beautiful thing. Everything they do to us just makes us stronger."

Rather than becoming parodies of themselves and letting the rock star feed upon the artist until nothing remains, Placebo struck back the best way they knew how – by building an excellent record. Strident and fierce, Black Market Music picks up where the hangover of Without You I’m Nothing left off. Throbbing beats, layers of crashing guitars, and Molko’s signature high-pitched whine are still there. The angst and fury of the debut Placebo melds with the introspection and sadness of Without You I’m Nothing, fusing into a strong, passionate sound.

Hewitt beams with pride over this new album, and even through our conversation follows threads from globalization to world cultures to hip-hop, he always brings the subject back to Black Market Music. Part of the more cautious, more businesslike Placebo? Did they feel they had something to prove with this record?

A little, he says. But he maintains that it wasn’t difficult to make Black Market Music. The pressure to make another album came from within the band, not from the fans or the press.

"In fact, it was the easiest record we’ve ever made. We traveled around the world for fourteen months with Without You I’m Nothing, and we got fucking bored of playing ‘Pure Morning,’" he says. (It remains one of the most wildly popular of the band’s tunes, and they don’t disappoint, playing it in encores.) "We were just desperate, chomping at the bit, basically, to get in the studio and start writing.

"And so we took four weeks off… and so much stuff just exploded out of us it was brilliant. We just decided, ‘Let’s make the biggest fucked-off rock record we can." He laughs. "And it all just felt right. It still feels right now."

The band chose to co-produce the album themselves with Paul Corkett. "We thought, why add another person to the band who doesn’t know the band? You have to learn by making mistakes… and we managed to get all the sounds out of our heads and onto tape. It was a big step for us, but it was a lot of camaraderie and a lot of humor. It was really good fun. And we liked the result, really. It gave us lots of hope."

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Like boxers who forego training camp, preferring a full slate of prizefights to keep fit, Placebo has remained in fighting form by forging their music in front of a live audience and deriving their energy from the interaction of performing. Their blazing, furious shows have sold out everywhere in the past six years, and they are eager to play in America again after being away for the past two years.

 

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