This U.K. three-piece's self-titled debut often got compared to Smashing Pumpkins and Rush--Smashing Pumpkins for its unashamed mid-'70s prog-rock allusions and Rush because of singer Brian Molko's unusually high-pitched, almost androgynous voice. In reality, Placebo were far more salacious, downright dirty, and culturally confusing than either. (The band is a mix of American, Swedish, and English, with some Lebanese and Luxembourgian thrown in.
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