IT says a lot about Placebo that I can recognise the very distinctly nasal voice of frontman Brian Molko, but struggle to actually remember any of its other songs beyond obvious hits like Special K, Every You Every Me, You Don’t Care about Us, and that brilliant reworking of Kate Bush’s classic Running Up That Hill.

Unfairly perhaps, but I’ve always considered the trio of Molko, bassist Stefan Olsdal and new drummer Steve Forrest as something of a poor man’s Muse – all the glam, loud guitars, but with less memorable songs. It didn’t help either that the first Placebo album I made an effort to listen to in its entirety was 2006’s Meds, which went by me like a passing sports car on a highway – I listened to it for a while, liked it a little, but ultimately could remember neither the tunes nor the song titles!

Battle for the Sun may yet fare better than its predecessor in that respect, especially since songs like Bright Lights and Devil in the Details appeal broadly to my penchant for songs with infectious verses and a soaring, loud guitar chorus.

Meanwhile, the title track features Molko sinisterly snarling verses with repetitive but catchy one-word chants that slowly build up the tension before exploding into a suitably climactic chorus.

And for what it’s worth, despite a break in the middle of the song described as “incidental Tetris music” by an online reviewer, the first single For What It’s Worth is an excellent all-action, head-banging rock song that is one of the most memorable on the album.

But if you were to ask me where in the band’s entire discography does this album stand, my answer would be quite close to the line Molko concludes the final track Kings of Medicine with ... I wouldn’t know where to begin.

You see, Battle for the Sun may not be the band’s best work ever, but it is nowhere near the bottom of the pile either. Much like the drug the band is named after, this album doesn’t really do anything for you, but it does help you decide exactly what kind of Placebo song you prefer, or whether you’d rather listen to Muse instead.