“I can’t believe it’s taken us this fuckin’ long to get here,” says Johnny Borrell from the Olympia’s stage. And neither can we. On the eve of the release of their second album, Razorlight have finally made it to the capital for their debut Irish headliner. Sold out, the sense of anticipation in the Olympia is palpable, making for the sort of frenzied atmosphere that Borrell and co feed off best.
Dressed in all white and looking not unlike he’s just stepped out of the 1980s, Borrell is suitably attired to mirror his stadium rock ambitions. Throughout a 50 minute set, he oozes both the charisma and arrogance for which he’s becomes infamous, and which is of course key to his star quality. Addressing the audience little by way of on-stage comments, he instead expresses himself through performance. Borrell doesn’t so much sing his lyrics as become them. When he delivers lines such as, “I mean to say that that’s alright/I did what I could!” on opener ‘Vice’ he does so with the sort of passion and intensity that it’s as if whoever he’s addressing is stood directly in front of him. In a live setting this serves to close the distance between band and audience. You’re not so much watching a show as partaking in it.
‘Fall, Fall, Fall’, ‘Dalston’ and closer ‘Stumble And Fall’ unsurprisingly lift the roof off the Olympia, though it’s the new material which intrigues most. Of the six or seven tunes showcased, ‘Pop Song’ and ‘Can’t Stop This Feeling’ are unimpressive, though in ‘In The Morning’, ‘Black Jeans’ and ‘America’ the group have the bones of a fine album. Notable for its lyrical strength, ‘America’ in particular stands out, detailing the confusion felt from the outsider looking in at the US. Truly a tremendous live act, their forthcoming Hi:Fi appearance should prove reason alone to attend the festival. Quality.