2006 studio album by Razorlight
Razorlight
is the second studio album by English
indie rock
band
Razorlight
. The album was released on 17 July 2006 in the United Kingdom and debuted at number 1 on the
UK Albums Chart
.
The band achieved their first and only number one hit from this album, with "
America
" peaking at the top of the
UK Singles Chart
in October 2006. The song also peaked at number 6 in Ireland, number 9 in the Netherlands, number 10 in New Zealand, number 17 in Austria, number 21 in Belgium, number 22 in France, number 29 in Switzerland and number 38 in Germany. "
Before I Fall to Pieces
" was a UK top 20 hit too, as was "
In the Morning
". "Hold On" was a minor hit.
The album has a more mature sound than their debut, and received a mixed reception. Although it scored 8/10 in
NME
, it was nominated for 'Worst Album' at the 2007
NME
Awards ? award winner
Rudebox
by
Robbie Williams
also scored 8/10.
[1]
Critical reception
[
edit
]
Razorlight
received generally mixed reviews from
music critics
. At
Metacritic
, which assigns a
normalised
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
average
score of 60, based on 18 reviews.
[2]
Paul Stokes of
NME
gave high praise to the album's production and lyrics for being larger than life and containing sincere romantic tales that come after various parties, concluding that "It's [also] a record that sees Razorlight comfortably leap the "difficult second album" trap. Now that calls for a party."
[8]
MacKenzie Wilson of
AllMusic
praised the band's collaboration with producer
Chris Thomas
of being able to craft different genres into a unique sound with sharp musicianship that helps set them apart from their contemporaries, saying that "They make honest indie rock for those looking for a solid, good song. There's no frills, no fancy production, just the purity of these songs."
[3]
Doug Kamin of
ARTISTdirect
found the album's tight and polished sheen off-putting and its latter tracks lacking replay value but praised the first four tracks for their strong production and energetic tone, concluding that "this is ultimately going to age very well for Razorlight as they become arena rock gods in the years to come."
[5]
Dan Wale of
Drowned in Sound
felt disappointed with the album, saying that some decent tracks can't deviate listeners away from the band's attempt at maturity that comes across more sophomoric in its new sound, saying that "This is not a great album ? that needs to be said while the dust is still settling. Though it's not bad, we have to disperse such a thick smokescreen before we can even start to ascertain its worth ? any reward has already been bled out in the disparity between expectation and reality."
[6]
John Murphy of
MusicOMH
said that despite Bjorn Agren's guitar work saving Johnny Borrell's subpar tales of romance and rock star glory, the album reveals poor musicianship and retreads from their debut album, saying that "It's not so much that much of Razorlight is bad exactly, it's just very ordinary. In deciding to ditch their more spiky side and go all out for commercial glory, the band have lost sight of what made them special in the first place."
[7]
Brian Hiatt of
Rolling Stone
admired the band's basic three instrument formula to deliver catchy pop rock tracks but felt that "the overall feel still falls somewhere between sterile and silly."
[11]
Liz Colville of
Stylus Magazine
panned the album for recycling the same formula and influences found in the band's debut effort and delivering it under a studio polish that feels more self-satisfied than true artistic growth, saying that, "[T]he solipsism and trite accounts of benders from the first album are still there, but the music has gone exceedingly soft."
[12]
Track listing
[
edit
]
Personnel
[
edit
]
- Johnny Borrell - vocals and guitar
- Bjorn Agren - guitar
- Carl Dalemo - bass
- Andy Burrows - drums
- Produced by
Chris Thomas
except "America" produced by Razorlight
- Engineered by Jamie Johnson except "America" engineered by Sean Miller
- Assisted by Richard Cooper
- Recorded at British Grove Studios, London
- Additional engineering by Chris Thomas
- Mixed by Jeremy Wheatley
- Cover photography by Max Vadukul
- Other photography by
Jill Furmanovsky
Charts and certifications
[
edit
]
Weekly charts
[
edit
]
Singles
[
edit
]
Certifications
[
edit
]
Release history
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"And the Other Winners Are..."
NME
: 46. 10 March 2007. Archived from
the original
on 20 March 2007
. Retrieved
13 April
2007
.
- ^
a
b
"Razorlight by Razorlight"
.
Metacritic
.
Archived
from the original on 22 April 2018
. Retrieved
4 July
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Wilson, MacKenzie.
"Razorlight ? Razorlight"
.
AllMusic
.
Archived
from the original on 15 January 2021
. Retrieved
8 August
2011
.
- ^
Murray, Noel (12 September 2006).
"Dirty Pretty Things / Razoright"
.
The A.V. Club
.
Archived
from the original on 12 August 2020
. Retrieved
21 February
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Kamin, Doug.
"Razoright by Razorlight"
.
ARTISTdirect
. Archived from
the original
on 19 February 2012
. Retrieved
8 August
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Wale, Dan (18 August 2006).
"Album Review: Razorlight ? Razorlight"
.
Drowned in Sound
.
Archived
from the original on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
5 January
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Murphy, John (17 July 2006).
"Razorlight ? Razorlight"
.
MusicOMH
.
Archived
from the original on 14 August 2020
. Retrieved
6 January
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Stokes, Paul (17 July 2006).
"Razorlight: Razorlight"
.
NME
.
Archived
from the original on 21 February 2021
. Retrieved
21 February
2021
.
- ^
Moerder, Adam (21 July 2006).
"Razorlight: Razorlight"
.
Pitchfork
.
Archived
from the original on 6 March 2016
. Retrieved
23 March
2013
.
- ^
Lomas, Michael (29 September 2006).
"Razorlight: Razorlight"
.
PopMatters
. Retrieved
5 January
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Hiatt, Brian (21 August 2006).
"Razorlight : Razorlight"
.
Rolling Stone
. Archived from
the original
on 18 June 2007
. Retrieved
8 August
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Colville, Liz (1 August 2006).
"Razorlight ? Razorlight"
.
Stylus Magazine
. Archived from
the original
on 30 March 2014
. Retrieved
6 January
2016
.
- ^
Ryan, Gavin (2011).
Australia's Music Charts 1988?2010
(PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 230.
- ^
"Austriancharts.at ? Razorlight ? Razorlight"
(in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^
"Ultratop.be ? Razorlight ? Razorlight"
(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^
"Ultratop.be ? Razorlight ? Razorlight"
(in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^
"Danishcharts.dk ? Razorlight ? Razorlight"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^
"Dutchcharts.nl ? Razorlight ? Razorlight"
(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^
"Lescharts.com ? Razorlight ? Razorlight"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^
"Offiziellecharts.de ? Razorlight ? Razorlight"
(in German).
GfK Entertainment Charts
. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^
"Irish-charts.com ? Discography Razorlight"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^
"Charts.nz ? Razorlight ? Razorlight"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^
"Official Albums Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^
"Razorlight Chart History (
Billboard
200)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Razorlight | full Official Chart History"
.
Official Charts Company
. 30 August 2003
. Retrieved
10 August
2020
.
- ^
"The Irish Charts - 2006 Certification Awards - Multi Platinum"
.
Irish Recorded Music Association
. Retrieved
14 January
2017
.
- ^
Copsey, Rob (28 August 2018).
"Razorlight announce first album in ten years, release four new songs"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved
28 August
2018
.
- ^
"British album certifications ? Razorlight ? Razorlight"
.
British Phonographic Industry
. Retrieved
5 January
2016
.
Select
albums
in the Format field.
Select
Platinum
in the Certification field.
Type
Razorlight
in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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Studio albums
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Singles
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Related articles
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