Razorlight - Razorlight > Reviews > Lightweight but Fun

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Mediocre
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Some catchy tunes .
Disadvantages:	It could have done without some of the umemorable filler tracks

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Razorlight were the kind of band that didn't really move me deeply in any way. In fact the first time I saw them on TV live at Hyde Park as part of Live 8 concert, I thought they were trying too hard with little effect. Then along came the hit single America, which as pop songs go I thought was well constructed and hit all the right notes and punched its weight at the top of the charts. Although hardly original in theme or sentiment, it remains a catchy radio pop song. I'm not sure however, if in the future this is a song that is going to remind us of circa 2006 or some time earlier in the 20th century. It's a sentiment I have for the album as a whole.

Some regard Razorlight as "indie rock's finest grave robbers" an attribute especially attached to their debut 2004 debut Up All Night. There also seems to be a trend amongst those who glorified their first album to 'dis' this one. I've not heard 'Up All Night' so I can't comment too much on this, but the idea that they've sold out to the US market is a bit harsh. After all, many of these songs are heavily influenced by former British indie rockers. One Amazon reviewer describes the second album as "mindless, substance-less riff-rock", but couldn't that be a description of most rock music :-)? One thing I would say is that this is definitely a Radio 2 album and there's nothing wrong with that!

There are certainly a lot of influences on this album. In some ways it resembles a regurgitated concoction of classic pop and epic rock rhythms of the last three decades. The opening track about having a hangover, 'In the morning' (also released as a single) has Bowie overtones but very much resembles a Talking Heads number with its crisp percussion and recurring staccato guitar rhythm. 'Who Needs Love?' according to the NME 'cheekily borrows a bar-room piano from Bruce Springsteen'. This is followed by the Motown -inspired and dodgy stomping beat of 'Hold On' - something your auntie with the Bee-Hive might dance to at the Christmas party. The fifth track on the album 'Before I Fall to Pieces' is one of my favourites and carries on the same catchy beat and effective dislocated vocal as on 'America'. I also like 'I Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got' which is a bit like a Jam ballad with Elvis Costello on vocals. Pop song 2006 is one of my least favourite tracks on the album with a raw scratchy rock sound that for many has echoes of U2, but for me would never have been in contention as a filler track on the Joshua Tree (Not that I'm a big fan if U2). 'Kirby's House' is another of the weaker tracks with lyrics that go nowhere - it sounds like someone moaning about moving house. This track more than any other on this album exemplifies singer songwriter Jonny Borrel's lack of imagination as a creative song writer unless it was just boredom in trying to get the album finished. Next we have the blustery "Back to the Start" - is that a Sting impression I hear? Some white reggae influence maybe but I wouldn't go as far as Time Out and describe this as 'driving music for middle-aged men.' The unmemorable "Los Angeles Waltz" closes off the album with a whimper about the pressures of touring.

Although not all the songs hit the target, this is still a fun album with some catchy tunes. If anything holds the album together it's probably the percussion arrangements and skilful drumming of Andy Burrows along with some wonderful chord sequences and riff combinations by Swedish guitarist Bjorn Agren. I don't have a problem with rehashed indie rock riffs and pop melodies of a bygone age. After all, there's no such thing as an original pop song - everything is influenced by something else. It is however, reasonable to question whether Razorlight have brought anything new to the contemporary pop/rock scene. Perhaps lyrically the album doesn't resonate enough with the times. Jonny Borrel is certainly not the greatest songwriter of his generation and too much of his song writing is rather vacuous. 'America' is probably the only song that possesses lyrical weight. Despite these criticisms I would still say that this is a CD you can still enjoy listening to. Probably worth the £5 it now costs on Amazon.