Razorlight at SWX 08/12/2018

With a new album out and a dedicated crowd in the building, the stage was set for Razorlight’s new album, ‘Olympus Sleeping’ as well as classics alike. With a large catalogue of songs, and a crowd expecting the hey days, Razorlight performed a joyous and experienced extended set.  I could not help noticing that Razorlight were asking a bit much from my 20-year old-self to engage with their naughties rock style. Despite my pal and I feeling like babies, the crowd in there were of course enthusiastic. Leaning at the back on the sound desk, we rather enjoyed the role reversal of ages for the night. Within a few songs, the 30 somethings, who’d re-grouped their teenage gangs, were throwing it back to their bedroom stereos. There were even a couple of crowd surf attempts that annoyingly fell flat; no one wants to have a dad bod on top of you.

Moving through their repertoire at quite a pace, it was clear we were in for a wealth of tracks. Johnny Borrell, the front man, offered little to no audience chat, but that didn’t matter. This wasn’t a mediocre newcomer trying to flesh out a gig for their debut album. I suppose that’s what made the whole experience so engaging - the visual chemistry and outright experience of the band. They’ve been doing this for yonks, and what makes it even better, they clearly love it. After one or two of the tracks that made the band who they are, Razorlight played some tunes from their new album. ‘Carry Yourself’ which has performed best commercially was probably the most well received. It’s a stripped back indie song with just the right amount of hints at their original vibe. And to round it all off, we had renditions of, ‘In the Morning’ and of course, ‘America’. Having spent a number of years away doing other projects, Razorlight marked a clear return to what they do best: live shows.