There's nothing on the TV, nothing on the radio that means that much to me....

Razorlight is an London-based rock band that gets oodles of press in the UK, but pretty much nothin' in the States. And that's a shame. I mean, I know I wasn't ga-ga over the group's debut, Up All Night, but probably more due to me lumping them into a cartload of other British neo-rock bands at the time, like the Libertines, Kaiser Chiefs, etc, etc. But much to my delight, Johnny Borrell and the boys have definitely killed the sophomore curse with their self-titled CD, Razorlight. Filled with tight, melodic tunes that sometimes remind me of Madness (probably the prominent piano on a bunch of tracks), sometimes the Fab Four themselves (in Borrell's spot-on Lennon-tinged voice on "Who Needs Love?"). Most of the disc are "love songs" in a way, though you'd never know it since the leadoff track, "In The Morning", has been accused of being about date-rape, though I listened to it and he is thinking "we", so maybe it's about a couple having a sloshed moment of indescretion. "Who Needs Love" is my highlight of the album, with its simple melody and bright, sunny counterpoint to the normally dirthful lyrics about giving up of being in/getting/having love. "Hold On" is another Britpop nugget, with toss-off inspirational lyrics under layers of killer hooks. "America", their sole #1 hit so far in Britain, was well deserved, describing Borrell's nostalgia for younger days and naive love for American culture. "Before I Fall To Pieces" is a good "wronged-man" shuffle, while "I Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got" almost begins like a Hagar-era Van Halen song, but retains its subdued arrangement until the end, which really works for the repressed emotion to carry through. "Pop Song 2006" may be sarcastically named, but it'd fit on radio any day. The visualism of "America" is replayed on the flashback of "Kirby's House", and "Back To The Start" enbodies a psuedo-reggae vibe to start off a typical neo-britpop jam. Closing out the disc is "Los Angeles Waltz", an atypical way to end, being all minorchord-y and 3/4 time (of course) and all. However at no point on here was my interest waned. As much as there was nothing I could call "classic" in my lowly opinion, it definitely was close at many points (the first half is as good as brit-rock in 2006 got and a good listen throughout. A find for those in the states, especially the CD/DVD edition (which I bought on opening day for a whopping 6.99 even!). Hopefully they'll catch on here. Until then...

Grade: B+
Best Cuts: "Who Needs Love?", "America"

Razorlight hit #180 in the US and #1 in the UK.
"In The Morning" hit #3 in the UK.
"America" made #1 in the UK.
"Before I Fall To Pieces" made #17 in the UK.
"I Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got" hit #44 in the UK.

Listen: "Who Needs Love?" (link)

Buy: You can pick up Razorlight at sites like here and here...

and for the videos.... first off the #1 song "America"...