Placebo

Placebo appeared during Britpop like a cracked mirror: Brian Molko sang about desire, addiction and isolation in a razor-blade voice, while nervous guitars refused the comfort of the British national anthem. From the compact attacks of the early years to the dark electronics of Sleeping with Ghosts and the wounded maturity of Never Let Me Go, the band made discomfort a pop language.

Its songs do not ask to belong: they capture the moment when belonging already feels like a form of loss.

Why listen to Placebo?

A catalog of danceable scars for anyone suspicious of ready-made happiness.