NME called the album "dangerous, mysterious and utterly addictive". Trouser Press wrote that it "establishes the trio as a strong contender in the Britpop scene."

In his retrospective review, Nitsuh Abebe of AllMusic wrote "[the band] brings together various influences – the epic, noisy 'Chicago sound", late-'70s prog rock and late-'80s 'college rock' – but boils them down into fairly conventional, guitar-heavy melodrama, with the sort of opaque and angst-ridden lyrics usually found in that genre. That's not to say that Placebo's sound is boring; churning guitars and direct, heavy basslines give the album a good deal of strength, and Molko is able to write moving, gritty melodies and fairly clever lyrics." Virgin placed the album 154th in its "All-Time Top 1000 Albums" list. In 1999, Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 94 on his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties".

Track listing

; 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition DVD

  • "Come Home" (Alexandra Palace - 11.04.06) – 5:00
  • "Teenage Angst" (The Big Breakfast - 29.08.96) – 2:39
  • "Nancy Boy" (Top of the Pops - 31.01.97) – 3:09
  • "Lady of the Flowers" (Glastonbury Festival - 27.06.98) – 5:41
  • "Teenage Angst" (The White Room - 23.08.96) – 2:29
  • "Bruise Pristine" (Top of the Pops - 23.05.97) – 2:33
  • "36 Degrees" (Wembley Arena - 05.11.04) – 5:02
  • "36 Degrees" <small>(video)</small> – 3:15
  • "Teenage Angst" <small>(video)</small> – 2:40
  • "Nancy Boy" <small>(video)</small> – 3:20
  • "Bruise Pristine" <small>(video)</small> – 2:59
  • "Soulmates Never Die Live in Paris Trailer" – 2:03

Charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

!scope="col"|Chart (1996–2012)

!scope="col"|Peak<br>position

|-

! scope="row"| European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)

| 39

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Greek Albums (IFPI)

|33

|-

|-

|-

|}

Personnel

; Placebo

  • Brian Molko – electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizer, bass guitar, vocals
  • Stefan Olsdal – bass guitar, electric and acoustic guitars, electric piano, synthesizer, piano
  • Robert Schultzberg – drums, percussion, didgeridoo on "I Know"

; Technical personnel

  • Ed Kenehan – engineering (tracks 1–5, 7–10)
  • Saul Fletcher – sleeve photography
  • Teo Miller – engineering (track 6)
  • Mary Scanlon – sleeve band photo photography
  • Phil Vinall – production and mixing (track 6)
  • Brad Wood – production (tracks 1–5, 7–10)

Certifications and sales

References