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Razorlight

Album: Slipway Fires

Label: Mercury Records

Release Date: March 7, 2009

Website: www.razorlight.co.uk

Razorlight have always managed to leave a good impression on audiences since the release of their debut album Up All Night in 2004. Now on their third offering, Slipway Fires, the band provides audiences with more of their brand of polished hooks and mainstream rock adding in a handful of surprises that will make fans say, "I didn't know they could do that."

Razorlight show that they have an adventurous side to them, oftentimes blurring the lines between Brit-pop, chamber-wicked punk, and synth textured folk. The tunes are fashioned from an evident camaraderie among the band members as vocalist Johnny Borrell plunges into and skims over the rhythmic swells of drummer Andy Burrows and bassist Carl Dalemo, while guitarist Bjorn Agren mitigates through the channels with comfy chord expansions and intricately carved twists. On the surface, the melodies appear unpretentious, but the detailing that festoons the passages and transitions are subtle and dress up the tracks to a mainstream rock sheen.

Unlike their two previous albums, Slipway Fires takes pride in showcasing soft whimpering piano ballads like "Wire To Wire" and "The House." Borrell's vocal inflections and dulcet nuances give these tunes a flesh and blood character, which provides a substantive amount of emotion. The album moves into a more punk inspired palette with "You And The Rest" and "Hostage Of Love" while indulging in shimmery guitar vibrations that open "Tabloid Lover" and display a resemblance to U2. Theatrical reflexes engrave highs and lows along "Blood For Wild Blood" delivering emotive jolts liken to Queen, whereas "Stinger" has a bluesy soul rock vibe that makes the hair on your arms stand on end. "North London Trash" has a more garage rock slant with a rough country-tone flange that ruffles up the melodies feathers. The band layers acoustic and electric elements to create a tattered rigamarole of wind-whipping cyclones through "Monster Boots," and loosely wired quivers along "Burberry Blue Eyes" that arouse the listener's senses.

Slipway Fires has a certain familiarity to Razorlight's two previous albums without having the band repeat themselves. Discovered while playing in London's rock clubs, Razorlight were signed early on to open for such major artists as U2, The Who, Queen (with Paul Rodgers), and the Rolling Stones. The band made their first appearance in America in 2004 at South by Southwest's music festival, followed by the release of their self-titled album in 2006 which garnered them two nominations at the BRIT Awards for Best British Band and Best Song, and two nominations at the NME Awards for Best Band and Best Album. Their latest record Slipway Fires shows that the band's Brit-pop roots and softcore punk palette have indeed matured, and they still sound good. They offer something more to look forward to for audiences, and a sense that making music continues to feel good over time.

Learn more about this author, Susan Frances.
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