Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell is a painfully misunderstood genius in his own mind. Blessed with an unnerving self belief and used car salesman’s gift of the gab, he has claimed his band’s angular post punk 2004 album Up All Night is on a par with Bob Dylan’s eponymous 1962 debut.
Borrell’s outrageous assertion is endearing to some (see NME), but to others an annoyance. And who can blame them?
Not everyone likes their music with a side order of conceitedness - particularly when the music in question has very little originality to it, drawing heavily on the new wave hooks of The Cars, the metropolitan cool of The Strokes and the aesthetic purpose of British Sea Power.
But more controversial in the eyes of Razorlight’s detractors was the revelation that the band reportedly opted to keep any extra royalties they earned as a result of their Live 8 performance rather than donate them. Hey, every narcissistic wannabe rock star has got to fund their lifestyle somehow.
Here’s hoping ‘In the Morning’, their first single since 2005’s top five hit ‘Somewhere Else’, will provide cash aplenty.
They say:
Gigwise: “Although it doesn’t sound like classic Razorlight, it hints at a more mature Borrell (his influences having jumped from 1975 to 1977).”
The Critic: “Confident, brash and fluent Razorlight are still on the up and that can only be good news for all of us…”
We say:
Give the man his dues. Much like Noel Gallagher, Johnny Borrell knows how to write a decent tune, albeit one that casually borrows from a number of obvious sources.
In this case, it’s the Talking Heads and Television – to the degree ‘In the Morning’ sounds like the bastard child of ‘Road to Nowhere’ and ‘Marquee Moon’, a jittery, stop start guitar and chugging bass and drums drenched in an intoxicating night club aroma.
Such plagiarism would be forgivable if not for Borrell bemoaning how “the songs on the radio sound the same” and “everybody just looks the same” beneath his trendy “I just woke up” Velvet Underground hairdo. Oh, the irony of it all.
All things considered, ‘In the Morning’ provides a welcome four minute distraction from the daily grind, but its over-reliance on past material cheapens its overall feel.
It’s fair to assume that Dylan won’t be quaking in his boots just yet.
Like this? Try these:
Talking Heads – Road to Nowhere
Television – Marquee Moon
RELEASED
Out now
LABEL
Mercury Records
POSTED...
Fri 30 Jun 2006 at 3:16pm
