Placebo formed in London in 1994 around Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal, pairing glam-tinged alternative rock with an androgynous, queer-coded edge that set them apart from the mainstream. Without You I'm Nothing (1998) and Sleeping with Ghosts (2003) are the ones to grab first. Shop Placebo vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Placebo formed in London in 1994 around Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal, who had previously known each other while attending the American School in Luxembourg as teenagers (the mythologized 'school train' meeting in 1986 has been cultural lore). They are widely cited as one of the most important contemporary alternative rock bands, with international commercial success across multiple decades (European and Russian audience particularly). Their androgynous and queer-coded aesthetic and gender-fluid lyrical content (Brian Molko gender expression and openly queer/bisexual identity) distinguished them from contemporary mainstream alternative rock. Their early-1990s glam rock and androgynous aesthetic has been influential on subsequent alternative rock acts. They have continued releasing material across multiple decades.
Placebo's sound combines alternative rock, post-grunge, glam rock, art rock, indie rock, electronic rock, and gothic rock with Molko's distinctive vocal delivery (androgynous high-register approach), atmospheric production approaches, and lyrical content addressing relationships, drug use, gender, identity, and mortality drawing on confessional songwriting traditions.
Hut Records, Virgin Records, and So Recordings pressings of the Placebo catalog have been issued in multiple color variant editions and limited deluxe pressings, with collector demand in European markets.
Listeners new to Placebo typically start with Without You I'm Nothing (1998) or Sleeping with Ghosts (2003).
