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In this “build em up, knock em down” culture, it’s hardly surprising that music hacks are getting themselves into a bit of a lather over Razorlight’s Johnny Borrell. With impressive boho credentials and the looks and stage presence to match, the front man has already been touted (alongside Carl and Pete Libertine) as part of the British rearguard defence against the never ending stream of US ‘garage’ bands lazily grouped under the ‘New Rock Revolution’ slogan. But scratch beneath the undeniably impressive first impression of Razorlight that is Borrell, and you’ll find a tight unit born out of two long standing friendships, Johnny (Vocals/Guitar) & Christian (Drums) and Bjorn (Guitar) & Carl (Bass). On a bitterly cold October night prior to their Liverpool Gig in support of The Bellrays , Gigwise sat down with the Swedish connection of Bjorn and Carl to find out how they’re dealing with the ‘hotly tipped’ tag.
Perhaps due to a comfortable sense of perspective that comes from spending your formative musical years in a country more noted for it’s pop rather than rock (The Cardigans, Wannadies and Hellacopters apart), both the chatty Bjorn and the quiet Carl don’t seem overly bothered about being today’s bright young things/tomorrows bargain bin fodder. “I’m not really worried about the expectation, I just take it as it comes” states Carl, whilst Bjorn’s levelheaded mechanism of dealing with the sudden thrust into the limelight is to “try not to think about it too much”.
Naïve of the potential pitfalls? Perhaps, but when you’ve got such a charismatic and unique front man in the finest British tradition and a clutch of songs genuinely worth shouting about, you can immediately understand the self-confidence. Now signed to Vertigo, it was during the summer of 2002 that they disappeared into the legendary Toerag Studio’s to record three of their best songs, one of which, ‘Rip It Up’, was officially released as their first single last week. Everything’s “very lean without too much fat with Razorlight” according to Bjorn, and this fittingly applies to ‘Rip It Up’, a sparse indie disco dancefloor filler if there ever was one, built around a sharp emo riff and some simple ‘get-loose’ lyrics from Borrell.
A song that’s metamorphosed into an “aggressive monster” (Bjorn) from its altogether more laid back beginnings, the single as well as the debut album due to crash land sometime next Spring, were produced by Steve Lillywhite of U2 fame. So how did that come about?
“He’s actually the MD of our record label” states Bjorn. “He hasn’t produced anything for ages and now he can only produce bands that are on his label, which is good for us. There’s a lot of communication going on between the band and Steve but he knows exactly what something’s going to sound like because he’s got all that experience”.
So what can be expected from the debut album and how do the band think it will be received? Once again its Bjorn that pipes up, leaving the icily cool Carl to lounge like he’s been doing this all his life but…. danger! danger! crap cliché alert!. “I think we’re just trying to make our own favourite album and if we’re happy with it then that’s the final word”.
With plans including a Suede support slot and “world domination”, it’s clear that the future does look very bright for Razorlight either as leading lights of a British counter wave and/or a brilliant group in their own right. Taking the stage later to initial polite ripples of applause, its not long before the audience are won over by Johnny’s poetic ramblings and tightly knit songs, the highlight being the sprawling ‘In The City’ that builds from its initial low key beginnings, before signing off with a rousing punk outro. A clear sharp, light of exposure which lets you see if there’s spirit in what’s before you – you’d better believe it!
Photo by Dave Kent
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