Razorlight

Believe the hype? Well, as Razorlight mount the stage, it’s notable that there’s already an impressively small army of loyal fans gathered, eagerly waiting for them to start. Naturally, frontman and ex-Libertine,* Johnny Borrell, takes to the stage last, joining his band (which includes drummer *Christian Smith Pancorvo who is made up in an almost Adam Ant-style with thick black squares under his eyes) and immediately adds a sexy, quivering vocal on top of the bass-heavy opener ‘Get It And Go’. Beginning rather innocently, the song ultimately climaxes to a passionate finale.

As they progress with their current and forthcoming singles, ‘Rock and Roll Lies’ and ‘Rip It Up’, in addition to ‘In The City’, the crowd go crazy; appreciative of the raw talent in front of them. It’s undoubted that Razorlight has more to offer than many of the other ‘garage’ bands that are two-a-penny at the moment, it’s just that DiS can’t quite put it’s finger on why; perhaps it’s Johnny’s unique voice, or maybe because the band play exceptionally well and sound so good on stage after having only playing together since last summer. Most likely though is that it’s because the songs are thoughtful and actually well written, telling a tale of life in London, a band, love or whatever else is in Johnny’s crazy imagination.

Whatever it is, Razorlight leave the crowd eager and excited and Borrell & co. find a delighted bunch when they come back on stage for the encore. The last song, a more relaxed and slower effort goes through a number of tempo changes, rounding the evening off nicely.

For their music, performing in a smaller works to Razorlight’s benefit. Time will tell if they will sound as good in a larger venue. For the time being though, DiS don’t mind travelling to these smaller venues in the pursuit of good music.