RAZORLIGHT // THE LIQUID ROOMS, EDINBURGH
Razorlight are still at it, touring and giving fans something similar to the night desired but their golden touch is quickly losing the impact it had over a decade ago.
RAZORLIGHT PERFORMING AT LIQUID ROOMS, EDINBURGH - 21.02.2019
PICTURE BY: FINDLAY MACDONALD PHOTOGRAPHY
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5)
Since the early 2000s, Johnny Borrell has fronted the catchy indie rock group Razorlight who, in their peak, had numerous top ten singles in the charts; albums that repeatedly gained platinum certification and heavily sought after live performances including supporting shows for The Rolling Stones, Oasis and Richard Ashcroft.
Between 2004 and 2008, the band released three successful albums that established Razorlight as an indie force to be reckoned with. With catchy songs bustling full of moving lyrics that are universally connectable with subjects of love, frustration and confusion; it’s easy to see how their fame exploded so quickly. But just as they seemed set to take over, the band vanished. They kept quiet for a few years and re-emerged in 2018 with a new line-up, Borrell the only original member still in the band, and unveiled a new album ‘Olympus Sleeping.’
The newest album does not have the impact of those it succeeds. Gone are the instantly infectious hooks. As much as Borrell has tried to recreate what the band was, it falls flat and the album is unmemorable and easy to skip.
Razorlight have toured hard to promote this new release, they covered a lot of ground and filled their set list at Edinburgh’s Liquid Rooms with fresh tracks as well as all the most notable hits from the band’s initial releases.
On stage the band have unkempt, long hair and Borrell is wearing a dark blue boiler suit. Everyone on stage looks very dead-eyed. Although Borrell is lively on stages and energetically jumps in rhythm to some of the tracks, there is a strong sense that the guys are fed up.
The set list also seemed to be flawed. Tracks that are inevitably going to cause excitement like ‘Golden Touch,’ ‘Before I Fall To Pieces,’ and ‘Stumble and Fall’ and played together in the middle of the set. This means that momentum builds then drops dramatically toward the end of the set whether new tracks ‘Olympus Sleeping’ and ‘Razorchild’ to a crowd who are looking for the high energy to continue.
‘Rip It Up,’ however, did start the set off brilliantly and the fans tried to lose themselves. The worst decision of the set was their encore which again lost a lot of the fans bubbling energy. ‘America’ is the band’s last song and although this song is loved by the fans, it has a ballad like quality that would have been better swapped with one of their higher octane favourites played mid set that seemed quickly over with.
Razorlight are trying to break back in to the scene that they looked set to dominate when the band first came out. Now, however, they need to go back to the drawing board with new material falling down compared to their old sound and it having little impact when live. After taking such a break it’s possible the band have lost their way and are now re-establishing themselves as they find their new place but as even the band members do not look to be enjoying the performance, they are lucky so many attendees left stating that they had loved the night.
SETLIST: | RAZORLIGHT : LIQUID ROOMS, EDINBURGH
Rip It Up
In the Morning
Keep the Right Profile
Brighton Pier
Midsummer Girl
Golden Touch
I Can’t Stop This Feeling I’ve Got
Japanrock
In the City
Before I Fall to Pieces
Who Needs Love?
Razorchild
Stumble and Fall
Olympus Sleeping
Wire to Wire
Somewhere Else
ENCORE:
Carry Yourself
Got to Let the Good Times Back into Your Life
Sorry?
America