Placebo vs. My Bloody Valentine.
Gordon Grehan | 06/21/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Placebo's "Black-Eyed" is taken from their "Black Market Music" album. The song does not mark a major departure for the band - it's more of the scuzzed up glam rock we've come to expect from the three-piece. However, what Placebo do, they do well and this track is a tight bundle of spiky guitars, Brian Molko's wry, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and an irregular, disorienting rhythm. Tricksky, stop-start drumming gives ways to squalls of guitar noise as our Brian repeatedly sings the word "black-eyed" like the dirty little angel he is. Phrases like "forever biting on your nuts" lend a blackly comic touch. The star track on this single though, is "Pure Morning (M B V Remix)". A sonic assault is to be expected from Kevin Shields (of My Bloody Valentine infamy) and this remix does not disappoint. While retaining Molko's vocals deep down in the mix, "Pure Morning" is remade as a juggernaut of noise, a blistering, take-no-prisoners attack of distortion and thudding basslines that finally collapses in on itself and disintegrates. It's joyous. The final track is "Black-eyed (Placebo Vs. Le Vibrator)". This is a thundering beats-heavy mix with added bleeps and crystalline sonics. It reminds me of Timo Maas' remix work, which is praise indeed. It weighs in at over seven minutes, but remains interesting throughout by building layers of effects, tweaked vocal samples and piledriving bass on top of each other.Overall, an interesting single with the "M B V Remix" making it a highly recommended purchase. Enjoy."
Track Listings (3) - Disc #1