“I’m the best songwriter of my generation,” Johnny Borrell proclaimed during one of his numerous trumpet-blowing episodes during the early noughties. Razorlight were often accused of taking themselves too seriously. And of being absolutely woeful.
Their first album in more than 10 years begins with a knowing nod to their reputation. Adam Green of The Moldy Peaches performs a 20-second skit. “Genie - it’s Aladdin,” he says. “Print me a Razorlight album that doesn’t totally suck.”
Despite its atrocious title, Olympus Sleeping somewhat surprisingly doesn't totally suck, although it doesn't exactly set the world on fire either. Got to Get the Good Times Back in Your Life is the first of several cliched songs that don't plumb the terrible depths of Razorlight's terrible omnipresent hit America but trundle along monotonously.
They raise their game on Carry Yourself with some mildly pleasant guitar work straight out of the Two Door Cinema Club songbook. Ultimately, it doesn't go anywhere, and neither do any of these 10 tracks.
Razorlight actually do deliver on the promise raised of the introductory skit, but the world at large doesn’t really want, or need, another Razorlight album, even if they don’t suck quite so much.
