aaamusic | On 28, Aug 2010

I’ve been a Placebo fan for years. I loved the itchy, girly and disturbing vocals mixed with a sound that to me spoke louder than words and expressed what I felt as a teenager and then a young woman. Then the magic stopped, like a broken musical box. All of a sudden it feels as if they’re speaking another language or coming from another world. You wonder what happened to them, why haven’t they grown up like you did. Eventually you stop questioning and move on. I guess this is what happened to Steve Hewitt: eventually he found himself in a band trapped in youth forever, desperately trying to please new generation of potential music lovers by taking an emo route and swallow the fact that they didn’t know any of the masterpieces released by the band prior 2006. I guess Steve just grew up and started to itch, wanting to spread his wings and experiment something else.

The first child born from this love affair that is Love Amongst Ruin is the single So Sad (fade), an angry tune boosting a QOTSA sound alike intro, made of sharp guitars. Steve voice switches from the angry, sharp tone to a more gentle, almost whispering one of the chorus. The metal-like guitars and the steady drums play great contrast to this love song, which tastes of old fashionable – but great – raw sound.

Definitely worthy of a Them Crooked Vulture album, this track is a masterpiece, proving how raw guitars still make the difference in the currently synth/electro dominated scenario. And, most important, this sounds nothing like Placebo, which was my main fear.

Forget Brian Molko girly vocals and synths and go back to your roots with Love Amongst Ruin: Steve Hewitt’s new project is one to watch. A great debut.

Author: Alessia