Razorlight - Slipway Fires
There could be an argument that this is some kind of clever post-modernist pastiche of early 90s Brit super rock with too much cocaine and too large a back catalogue.
Razorlight are far from the most objectionable of mainstream acts out there, nor are they close to the best. With 'Slipway Fires' they have objected to, proved and denied this statement. It all kicks off very predictably with 'Wire To Wire', potentially the weakest track on the album and the one with the most questionable video (regardless of future releases). We all know where we stand.
Hostage Of Love' and 'You Are The Rest', more specifically the latter, provide some solace to those unsatisfied by the opener's lack of life (or should that be soul). Full of near-intimate B-movie stylings and a mildly sentimental attitude - think 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', except it probably won't be sung by echelons of drunken students in 20 years' time.
From here the highlights include 'North London Trash' and 'Burberry Blue Eyes'. For all their whimsical titling and occasionally witty lyricism - both of which sound like they should be track names by The Clash et al - they fall somewhere short of the kind of free-partying smack you in the face with a smile rebellion one would hope for.
Truth be known this is far from a bad album; few could argue that 'The House' is a good tune, and 'Tabloid Lover' has a good opening. But that's not the point really; ultimately, there is too much here to forget. In its melancholy it falls short of depressing, in its joy it trips rather than lifts.
There could be an argument that this is some kind of clever post-modernist pastiche of early 90s Brit super rock with too much cocaine and too large a back catalogue, but it would be at best a weak point. Regardless, it appears to be a popular sound, as any T4 On The Beach will testify.
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