Demos – Razorlight By Sara Jade, PYRRHA fanzine Anyone who has been present at a Razorlight gig has long anticipated this demo, which quickly received London airplay.  It is a three-song taste that easily captures the charm and emotion of their live shows, and was so successfully recorded at Toe Rag studios it may become a first single.  The band (previously featured here using only frontman Johnny Borrell’s name) evoke comparisons with the original punk poets of the New York ‘70’s scene, not for the obvious reasons of dress code and behaviour, but because people like Tom Verlaine, Patti Smith and Richard Hell were influenced by writers like Rimbaud, Baudelaire and Bukowski, who is name-checked in “In the City”.    Although the music is also quite similar, perhaps simpler here, which better showcases the lyrics.     “Rip It Up” is the first song on the demo, and is more straightforward than some of their other songs.  With its simple ringing riff, it is the sort of song that should rescue pop music to its former glory days when The Kinks were regular features in the charts.  Employing quirky phrases like ‘Pick a stitch’ is another reminder of bands like The Kinks and others similar today like old mates The Libertines.  The second track here, “Rock’n’Roll Lies”, seems to relate the authentic tales of the difficulty of love within London’s own music scene with all its enthralling characters and idiosyncrasies, while the lyrics continue to herald the current return of literacy in music.  It must be said that “In the City” bears an extreme resemblance to Patti Smith’s version of “Gloria”, but with the line ‘I was looking for you’ which features in her “Redondo Beach”.  This song is usually the grand finale of Razorlight’s sets; understandably as it builds in momentum and tension until it reaches a frantic call and echo of “And it’s all right”, but not without a searing guitar solo first. These are three perfectly rendered pop-mod-punk songs that brilliantly demonstrate Johnny’s soulful voice, and the tight and burning unit that he, Carl (bass), Bjorn (guitar) and Christian (drums) have become.  Having supported bands from McAlmont & Butler to the Von Bondies, winning over crowds effortlessly with their songs and charisma, Razorlight are a band to watch closely as it can only be a matter of time before they move from triumph to triumph.