Razorlight's best yet

The band say they are ‘Razorlight in pleasure to make shocker’

03 October 2008 - Razorlight say recording their third album material went surprisingly well.

The follow up to 2006's self-titled LP, Slipway Fires was recorded in just two months in North London - and will be out next month.

The band are back on the touring road for the first time in nearly two years and played a gig at London's Forum last night (Thursday 2 October).

Speaking about being back on the promotional bandwagon, drummer Andy Burrows exclusively told 6 Music: “We’ve done some European stuff but this is the first London bit and this is the scarier bit, at home.”

Frontman Johnny Borrell explained: “This is the bit where you’re so proud of your record and everything you’ve done and the stuff around it, that you can’t wait to show it to everyone.

“We feel amazing about it. This is our first London gig, our own London headline show for nearly 18 months so pretty good.”

As for getting back out on stage, everyone in the Razorlight camp is unanimously psyched.

Burrows admitted: “I’m pretty nervous but extremely excited. We’ve been rehearsing the last couple of days and it is just that feeling of just wanting to get out there and show everybody – but I’ve got to admit, there are some butterflies.”

To which Johnny added wholeheartedly: “I cant wait.”

Making the third

The band said the whole process behind Slipway Fires was easy, thanks to the songs.

Borrell told 6 Music News: “Razorlight in pleasure to make shocker! Yeah it was, it was really good. I went away to Scotland, I was writing some songs, Andy was writing songs in London and we just got back and met up with Mike Crossey who’s a genius and the record happened.”

"We just felt like we had the strongest songs we’ve had so far and when you’ve got that material there’s not a lot else to do but just go in and record it."
Johnny Borrell

“We wanted to record it quickly, not over produce it or over think it too much and we just felt like we had the strongest songs we’ve had so far and when you’ve got that material there’s not a lot else to do but just go in and record it.”

Speaking about his approach to it, Borrell said they didn’t really suffer from ‘third album syndrome’, the notion of getting stuck in a musical brain freeze for fear of not living up to past successes.

“People say it every album - difficult first album, difficult second, ah, tricky third, ah, fourth but for me, writing wise, it was like exploring the shadows cast by the success of the first and second one. I can’t really elaborate but if that makes any sense that was what it was like for me.”

To which Burrows added: “This record has felt very little like we were trying to do anything which when you really genuinely mean that is incredibly nice.

“It’s really nice to have not been trying to do anything and I don’t know whether this will happen again but it was just so nice to have such a natural musical… journey!”

And then laughingly continued: “Oh Christ! But it is such a joy when you’re being creative and it does seem to flow.”

Georgie Rogers