Mmm, how excited I was to review this album. Remember when Razorlight was set to be the greatest band to come out of England since the Beatles? Oasis? The Libertines? How about the New Radicals? No? Well, they weren’t quite all that, but they were pretty damn good.
When 2004’s “Up All Night” was released, I swallowed all the hype and bought the album, and it was fantastic. It did not leave my car stereo for weeks and, in fact, I almost broke my nose on the steering wheel while rocking out to it. However, the second, self-titled effort from the band seems, to put it bluntly, a little half-assed. On this album, they disappointingly stray far from their fun pub punk with the debauchery-laced lyrics that they had on their first album and head straight into pop rock territory. The new album lacks the general excitement that they had on the original. I will admit, had this new album been the first time I had heard Razorlight, I may have a different opinion, perhaps in more of a positive realm. But alas, I have heard this band and I have higher expectations of their sound. They seem to have somewhat reinvented themselves with a much catchier, poppy sound.
So, isn’t catchy good? you ask. Not when it is bordering on manufactured.
They seem to have been taking major cues from the Strokes (which is not so bad) on much of the album, but their original sound was their own and they should have stuck with it. There are good and bad and, luckily, the CD doesn’t get any worse than the wannabe ballad “Americaâ€, which is slightly bearable. Then there are the corny “Kirby’s House” and “Before I Fall to Pieces,” which might as well have been penned by, gulp, the Gin Blossoms. Don’t get me wrong, the album has some okay songs, just not the type of songs I expect from them. For example, the reggae-tinged “Back to the Start” and a couple of songs, “Who Needs Love†and “Hold On†sound almost Motown influenced. They are actually danceable. They do still maintain the simple melodic formula that makes up most of their songs, though the only small traces I can hear of the old Razorlight are on the first track, “In the Morning,†as well as the only other standouts: “Pop Song 2006†and “Los Angeles Waltz.”
The rest is not worth a listen unless you buy their first album and see what the hell I’m talking about. I want my old Razorlight back!
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