English alt-rock legends Placebo have announced the dates for their upcoming tour. The duo will hit the road this autumn and will perform across Canada, Mexico and the US. Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal will be making their return to North America this September, an occasion that will mark their first North American tour in eight years. An extensive set of European dates have previously been announced, with the thirty-seven-date leg concluding with fourteen performances across the UK. The group took to Instagram to announce the tour dates, confirming also when ticket sales would open.
The upcoming 2022 tour is in support of the band’s forthcoming eighth studio album entitled Never Let Me Go, which is set to be released on the 25h March 2022 via Rise Records. The thirteen-track album marks the group’s first full release in over nine years, with the duo’s last album Loud Like Love having been released in 2013. The album sired great commercial success and reached number thirteen within the UK album charts, Loud Like Love was the last album to feature former drummer Steve Forrest.
A press release for the upcoming new album provides the following statement, stating Never Let Me Go, “grapples with humanity’s multiple crises, from “Beautiful James,” a stirring anthem for non-heteronormative relationships, to “Surrounded By Spies,” an observation on tech-saturation, “Try Better Next Time,” a track that is both a statement on climate calamity and a poetic hope for the future, and the final preview of the album: “Happy Birthday In The Sky,” a moving ode to those who are no longer with us.”
Frontman Molko discusses the influences and process taken to produce the group’s new album, “I wanted to capture the confusion of what it’s like to be alive today the feeling of being lost, always walking in a labyrinth, continuously being overwhelmed by information and opinions.”
Placebo first rose to fame in the 1990’s with their debut release, the self-titled album was released on 17th June 1996 and garnered great commercial and critical acclaim. The band’s alternative sound ensured the album’s success and in turn, Placebo became one of the era’s most defining groups, topics and themes heard within the group’s lyrics further cemented their importance within pop culture. The debut album’s most successful single, “Nancy Boy”, was the group’s breakthrough single and is now a crucial element within the era and genre’s musical cannon. The track’s lyrical content of drugs and sexuality were deemed trailblazing during the 1990s and paved the way for modern acts to sing openly about such topics.
Pre-order sales for Never Let Me Go are now available, fans will be able to purchase the album via multiple digital platforms as well as various physical formats. Placebo’s new release is available on Limited edition 2LP red vinyl, a web exclusive pink 2LP vinyl and a standard black 2LP vinyl. Music fans will also be able to purchase the upcoming album on caseate in a wide variety of limited-edition colours.
Placebo UK tour dates
18/11/2022 – Guildhall – Portsmouth
19/11 – Brighton Centre – Brighton
21/11 – Eventim Olympia – Liverpool
22/11 – O2 Victoria Warehouse – Manchester
24/11 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
26/11 – O2 Brixton Academy – London
27/11 – O2 Brixton Academy – London
29/11 – De Montford Hall – Leicester
30/11 – O2 Academy Leeds – Leeds
02/12 – O2 City Hall – Newcastle
03/12 – O2 Academy Glasgow – Glasgow
05/12 – 3 Arena – Dublin
07/12 – Corn Exchange – Cambridge
08/12 – O2 Academy 1 – Birmingham
Click here to purchase tickets.
Click here to pre-order Never Let Me Go.
Photo Credit: Mads Perch
