Never Let Me Go (Placebo album)

Never Let Me Go
Studio album by Placebo
Released	25 March 2022
Recorded	2019–2021
Genre	Alternative rock[1]
Length	57:35
Label	So Recordings Elevator Lady Rise
Producer	Adam Noble Placebo
Placebo chronology
Life's What You Make It (2016) Never Let Me Go (2022)
Singles from Never Let Me Go
"Beautiful James" Released: 16 September 2021 "Surrounded by Spies" Released: 9 November 2021 "Try Better Next Time" Released: 11 January 2022 "Happy Birthday in the Sky" Released: 4 March 2022

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.6/10[2]
Metacritic	78/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The Arts Desk	[5]
Contactmusic.com	[6]
DIY	[7]
Gigwise	[8]
The Independent	[9]
Kerrang!	4/5[10]
Louder	[11]
NME	[12]
Sputnikmusic	4.3/5[1]

Never Let Me Go is the eighth studio album by British alternative rock band Placebo, recorded between 2019 and 2021 and released on 25 March 2022. The album was made available for pre-order on 9 November 2021.[13]

It is Placebo's first studio album in over eight years, following 2013's Loud Like Love.[14] It is also their first album to be recorded as a duo, following the departure of drummer Steve Forrest in 2015. Concurrent with the album announcement, on 4 November 2021, the band revealed a 2022 headline tour of Europe and the United Kingdom.[15]

The first single from the album was "Beautiful James", released on 16 September 2021. The second single, "Surrounded by Spies", was released on 9 November 2021.[16] The third single, "Try Better Next Time" was released on 11 January 2022. The fourth and final single, "Happy Birthday in the Sky", was released on 4 March 2022.

The album achieved strong chart performance, peaking at # 1 in the UK Indie Chart, # 1 in the Austrian, Dutch, and German album charts, and # 3 in the UK Albums Chart.

Critical reception

Never Let Me Go received positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 13 reviews.[3] NME gave the album 4 stars, stating it was a return to form for the band, and their best since 2006's Meds.[12] In Under The Radar, Jimi Arundell commented "It’s good to hear that they’re still around and continuing to push themselves, though perhaps just not far enough"[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal, except where noted

Never Let Me Go track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Forever Chemicals"	Molko Olsdal Steve Ludwin	5:09
2.	"Beautiful James"		4:08
3.	"Hugz"		3:51
4.	"Happy Birthday in the Sky"		5:09
5.	"The Prodigal"		4:46
6.	"Surrounded by Spies"		5:14
7.	"Try Better Next Time"		3:07
8.	"Sad White Reggae"		3:25
9.	"Twin Demons"		3:58
10.	"Chemtrails"		4:31
11.	"This Is What You Wanted"		4:11
12.	"Went Missing"		5:05
13.	"Fix Yourself"	Molko Olsdal William Lloyd	5:01
Total length:			57:35

Never Let Me Go Deluxe Digital Album track listing

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Surrounded by Spies" (Timo Maas and Andre Winter Smack the Spies Extended Remix)	7:35
15.	"Surrounded by Spies" (Richard Norris Bag on the Platform Mix)	6:33
16.	"This Is What You Wanted" (Digital 21 & Stefan Olsdal Remix)	5:34
17.	"Try Better Next Time" (live)	3:02
Total length:		80:19

Personnel

Placebo Brian Molko – vocals, electric guitar, drum machine, keyboards, loops, percussion, synthesizer, whip, production, creative direction Stefan Olsdal – electric bass, electric guitar, keyboards, piano, synthesizer, background vocals, production, engineering

Additional personnel Adam Noble – production, mixing, engineering (all tracks); programming (1, 3–12) William Lloyd – engineering (all tracks), programming (4–6, 8, 11, 12), keyboard programming (10) Robin Schmidt – mastering Matthew Lunn – drums (1, 3, 8, 9) Pietro Garrone – drums (1–7, 10–12) Cody Jet Molko – background vocals (7) Phil Lee – creative direction, design Rachel Bungey – design Stuart Ford – design Mads Perch – band photo

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Never Let Me Go Chart (2022) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 10 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 1 French Albums (SNEP)[20] 2 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 4 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 1 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[23] 74 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[24] 1 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[25] 32 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 1 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[27] 7 Irish Albums (OCC)[28] 27 Italian Albums (FIMI)[29] 8 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 39 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[31] 10 Scottish Albums (OCC)[32] 3 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[33] 13 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[34] 55 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[36] 3 UK Independent Albums (OCC)[37] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Never Let Me Go Chart (2022) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[38] 189 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[39] 39 French Albums (SNEP)[40] 147 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[41] 45 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 81

References

1. K., Simon (27 March 2022). "Review: Placebo - Never Let Me Go". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
2. "Never Let Me Go by Placebo reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
3. "Never Let Me Go by Placebo". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
4. Yeung, Neil Z. "Never Let Me Go – Placebo | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
5. Carr, Tom (22 March 2022). "Album: Placebo - Never Let Me Go". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
6. Lockwood, Andrew (23 March 2022). "Placebo - Never Let Me Go Album Review". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
7. Goggins, Joe (23 March 2022). "Placebo – Never Let Me Go review". DIY. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
8. Eastoe, Dillon (24 March 2022). "Album Review: Placebo – Never Let Me Go". Gigwise. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
9. O'Connor, Roisin (24 March 2022). "Album reviews: Placebo – Never Let Me Go, and Aldous Harding – Warm Chris". The Independent. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
10. Winwood, Ian (24 March 2022). "Album review: Placebo – Never Let Me Go". Kerrang!. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
11. Beaumont, Mark (22 March 2022). "Placebo's Never Let Me Go: first album in nine years is worth the wait". Louder. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
12. Trendell, Andrew (24 March 2022). "Placebo – 'Never Let Me Go' review: a renaissance rock record with an experimental edge". NME. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
13. Jones, Damian (4 November 2021). "Placebo announce new album 'Never Let Me Go' and tease 2022 UK and European tour". NME.
14. Kenneally, Cerys (4 November 2021). "Placebo announce first album in over eight years Never Let Me Go". The Line of Best Fit.
15. Stickler, Jon (4 November 2021). "Placebo Announce Eighth Studio Album 'Never Let Me Go'". Stereoboard.com.
16. Skinner, Tom (4 November 2021). "Placebo announce new single 'Surrounded By Spies'". NME.
17. Arundell, Jimi. "Never Let Me Go". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
18. "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
19. "Austriancharts.at – Placebo – Never Let Me Go" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
20. "Lescharts.com – Placebo – Never Let Me Go". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
21. "Ultratop.be – Placebo – Never Let Me Go" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
22. "Ultratop.be – Placebo – Never Let Me Go" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
23. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 13.Týden 2022 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
24. "Dutchcharts.nl – Placebo – Never Let Me Go" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
25. "Placebo: Never Let Me Go" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
26. "Offiziellecharts.de – Placebo – Never Let Me Go" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
27. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2022. 14. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
28. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
29. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 13 (dal 25.03.2022 al 31.03.2022)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
30. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
31. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
32. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
33. "Top 100 Albums: Week 13 (2022)". El portal de Música (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
34. "Veckolista Album, vecka 13". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
35. "Swisscharts.com – Placebo – Never Let Me Go". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
36. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
37. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
38. "Jaaroverzichten 2022" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
39. "Rapports annuels 2022" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
40. "2022: La production musicale française toujours au top" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
41. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts 2022" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
42. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2022". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 27 December 2022.