Frontman Johnny Borrell’s Patti Smith-esque gabbles and ‘Marquee Moon’ swipes are channelled through a thousand-yard stare that will not only knock your socks off, but send the rest of your lower body flying through the back wall. His delivery is as intense as the rest of the band’s rupturing chops, rolls and soars. Short and sweet forthcoming single ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Lies’ is as anthemic and visceral as its title suggests. ‘In The City’ is a revelation: its snarled building chorus, “I’ve been looking for you/looking for you/in the city last night”, falls effortlessly back into a verse consisting of some of the best lyrics I have heard spring from the Monarch’s cramped stage. It is testament to the band’s dynamic that Borrell’s storytelling lyrics can always be heard throughout Dalemo, Agren, and Smith’s chaotic rhythms.
Within this mixture lies the crux of Razorlight’s appeal – a crafted combination of two-minute gritty slaps and resonating lyrical crescendos. Putting the (frankly boring) Strokes comparisons to one side, the band take CBGB’s 70’s roster of underground rock bands and tint it with enough of 2003 to bring Tom Verlaine and David Byrne’s crunched sounds to an increasingly large and devoted audience. As the last remnants of feedback die out, Borrell is mobbed onstage by some of his more die-hard devotees. This is a sight to behold, especially in a small venue in fucking Camden! Having recently signed to Mercury, and with ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Lies’ set for release in the coming month, let’s hope that the hype surrounding Razorlight does not crush, overtake and tarnish what is already an exciting and essential band.
Ross Bennett
Razorlight's Drowned In Sound page