Review | Placebo open their first UK tour in five years at Portsmouth Guildhall: 'Transcendent? Not quite. But still very good'

The short statement, delivered with ‘respect and love’ asks fans to ‘be here and now in the present and enjoy the moment,’ and that their ‘purpose is to create communion and transcendence.’ Lofty aims. And it works – I didn’t see a single camera phone all gig, which does indeed put everyone firmly in the moment. It is lovely.

This is the opening night of the alt-rockers’ UK tour – their first since 2017, in support of Never Let Me Go, their first studio album in nine years. Having hit number three in the charts on its release back in March, it is actually Placebo’s highest ever chart placing. As such, expectation levels are running high and the gig sold out well in advance.

Anyone expecting a greatest hits show is sorely disappointed – the set leans very heavily on the new album and many of their biggest singles are omitted. Their debut is only represented by the deep cut Bionic, and there’s nothing from second album Without You I’m Nothing (so no Pure Morning, Every You, Every Me, etc). Gripes about what we didn’t get aside, what we do get is impressive. The new material is as bombastic as you could want, the lightshow retina-searing, and while the former trio has essentially been a duo for some time now, live they are bolstered by four other musicians who provide solid backing while remaining mostly in the shadows at the back of the stage.

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Openers Forever Chemicals and Beautiful James, both new songs, set out their stall – big guitars, moody synths, frontman Brian Molko’s distinctive nasally vocals. It’s the same goth/glam/electronic-tinged sound with an ever-present undercurrent of danger and decadence they have been peddling for many years now – and why not? They do it very well. Molko and wingman Stefan Olsdal on bass, guitar and a piano named ‘Liberace’, apparently, are mostly content to let the music do the talking and the songs pile up in quick succession.

Although this is the first night, it is the same setlist they’ve recently been playing across Europe so there are no missteps – it is a slick Rock Show. There are no obvious nerves on show, but one of the few times Molko addresses the adoring crowd is towards the end, to say: ‘I have a confession to make – I was very nervous about tonight because of the intimacy, so I want to thank you from the bottom of the heart.’ I hope this is a genuine sentiment rather than one trotted out every night.

In the encores we get their rabble-rousing cover of Tears For Fears’ Shout, another newie, Fix Yourself, and their sublime, broody version of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill – a song they were playing long before Stranger Things gave it new hip currency. So was it transcendent? Not quite. But it was still very good.