Johnny Borrell violated my ears with this debut, maybe he'll do better with album number two? (Up All Night - Razorlight)

Member Name: DanielKemp

Product:	Up All Night - Razorlight
Date:	13/05/09 (50 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All of the singles are good enough

Disadvantages: Almost the entire album is devoid of character, Borrell sounds THE SAME on every track

Razorlight - Up All Night (2004)

Producer: John Cornfield, Steve Lillywhite, Johnny Borrell

Leave Me Alone
Rock 'N' Roll Lies
Vice
Up All Night
Which Way Is Out
Rip It Up
Don't Go Back to Dalston
Golden Touch
Stumble and Fall
Get It and Go
In the City
To the Sea
Fall, Fall, Fall
Somewhere Else (bonus track)

I just don't know about Razorlight. Of all the pitiful indie bands which surfaced in the first five years of the new millennium, Razorlight were one of the worst offenders. Johnny 'bigmouth' Borrell has always thought the sun to be shining out of his posterior, but on this debut all of his promises are empty ones and are the equivalent to waking up from a heavy night, turning to your half finished can of Strongbow for one last swig and a little solace from the throbbing head, but to only find that it had been used as a resting place for the evening's Cigarette butts.

Let me start with the good before I inundate you with the bad, *looks*, I'm sure there was a good track or two along the way...

Rock 'N' Roll Lies was the band's debut single and it is one of the high points on the first half of the album. The guitar tuning and riffs are your pretty standard indie rock affair, but Borrell has an instantly recognisable voice, which is at least one good thing about the man. All things considered it was rather unfair that it would only reach number 56 in the UK chart.

Vice was the first single I ever heard Razorlight perform and was one of the songs which encouraged me to buy the album. While purchasing the album is a decision that I still rue to this very day, Vice makes for a damn fine single. The sing-along chorus of, "If it's L-O-V-E, I'll see you later...", makes for one of the best vocal hooks on the entire album.

Which Way Is Out is another above average track, although I'm not really feeling the clumsy guitar solo at the 2 minute 30 seconds part. Borrell has the swagger of a seasoned frontman and sounds as if he could give Liam Gallagher a run for his money here.

Don't Go Back to Dalston is one of the best tracks from the album and is one of the primary reasons why Up All Night drags itself from the abyss and lands itself a 3/5 rating. It does nothing remarkable but is pleasant enough.

To The Sea has the most standout and identifiable guitar riff on the album. It is both catchy and credible, if somewhat marred by Borrell's charmless drone. It would appear that the man is devoid of any emotion, as his voice sounds EXACTLY the same on every damn song.

As for the rest, well, the less said the better. I'm really not a fan of this album and I think that I am being more than generous with the score that I have given it. I had originally marked it a 4/10 but some of those singles give it an extra breath of life.

As a final word, if you are one of the people to have a copy of the album with the bonus track, Somewhere Else, then the overall experience is made slightly better. It trumps any of the other singles found on Up All Night; the acoustic guitars are instantly catchy and make it worth staying around for that extra 3 minutes.

Up All Night established Razorlight as a decent singles band, but they have some way to go before they become a great album band. But people, listen to Great Uncle Dan when he says "that's what second albums are made for"

Goodnight.

5.5/10

Daniel Kemp

Read more of my reviews at www.danielkempreviews.co.uk

Summary: Only worth buying if the shop in question accepts Monopoly money!