The 11 best Razorlight songs

Razorlight have a new album and a new tour to celebrate, so we're ranking their best tracks to date

It’s official. Skinny jeans are back. And so are Razorlight.

Formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell, the band became one of the indie mainstays of the early noughties, famed for their Camden-chic aesthetic (white jeans: check, deep v-neck tee: check) and a debut album that encapsulated all the scruffy magic of that bygone Meet Me In The Bathroom era.

And while Razorlight have gone through many line-up changes, this year sees them set out on a UK tour with founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Delemo, as well as drummer Andy Burrows.

So, straighten your fringes and squeeze back into those old American Apparel disco pants – to celebrate Razorlight’s return, we’ve compiled a list of their greatest tracks to get you grooving…

11. ‘Scared Of Nothing‘

(Planet Nowhere, 2004)

Razorlight’s newest single ‘Scared Of Nothing’ is perfect for welcoming these 00s indie darlings back into the fold. Older, wiser, this track celebrates Borrell’s more rounded and deeper vocals. The melody is simple yet loaded with spacy synths. In many ways, ‘Scared Of Nothing’ sounds like an Up All Night outtake, only what it lacks in youthful excess it makes up for in tempered experience. It’s great to have them back on the airwaves.

10. ‘You Are Entering The Human Heart‘

(Razorwhat? The Best Of Razorlight, 2002)

Released to coincide with their best of, ‘You Are Entering The Human Heart’ doesn’t sound like your average Razorlight song. Elements of gospel and R&B are driven by a well-crafted piano line and soulful backing singers, creating a multi-layered pop song that’s a perfect joy to listen to. If you aren’t familiar, go check it out.

9. ‘Up All Night‘

(Up All Night, 2004)

Le sigh. The glaring light of a 4am sunrise surrounded by a handful of strangers in some random house. The clarity of conversation. The promise to call that guy once you’re home. ‘Up All Night’ is a song about literally that. The bonds you make with someone based on lack of sleep and what Skins character you would best relate to. The early noughties was the true age of the ‘afters’, and this track is perfect for capturing the feeling of inevitable tragedy once you eventually rolled home to reality.

8. ‘Burn Camden Burn‘

(2020)

Recorded in 2009 (but released to coincide with it being used in TV show Trying), ‘Burn Camden Burn’ was produced by Edwyn Collins and is an homage to Borrell’s relationship with that infamous London Borough. Singing about his teenage scrapes and escapades, this track (while only released as a single) is Razorlight at their very best, and you can definitely hear something of Collins’ scuzzy sexiness in its production.

7. ‘America‘

(Razorlight, 2006)

Of course, this writer is well aware of this song’s massive popularity (and that many will clamour that it should be higher up on the list), however, the fact remains that it’s a tiny bit ludicrous. Yes, the jangly guitar is superb, but the idea that Borrell is genuinely affected by the ‘panic in America’ just doesn’t really sit right as authentic song content. Just me? Anyways, it had to make the list simply because it didn’t leave the radio for about five years (musically, it’s a good track), but please don’t roast us for not ranking it higher.

6. ‘Don’t Go Back To Dalston‘

(Up All Night, 2004)

Another ode to those whip-trendy indie girls, ‘Don’t Go Back to Dalston’ is a wailing lament from Borrell about his bird leaving him in favour of going back ‘up the Junction’ which, for anyone familiar with that part of Dalston at 3am on a Saturday night (i.e. it’s spicy as hell), probably isn’t such a bad shout. Short yet furious, it’s Borrell’s impassioned ‘ohhhhhhh’ at the end of the track that still spins ribbons around the heart. Brilliant.

5. ‘Wire To Wire‘

(Slipway Fires, 2008)

Dare we say it, there’s something a bit Nick Cave-y about ‘Wire To Wire’. The tender piano and the fragility of Borrell’s voice (something that hasn’t really been explored until this track) fused with the hushed backing choir creates something actually quite lovely. ‘Love me, wherever you are’ implores Borrell against a raw cello note. Hello goosebumps.

4. ‘Before I Fall To Pieces‘

(Razorlight, 2006)

Razorlight love a jangly intro – here’s another one. Here we find Borrell once again lamenting a girl that’s wronged him. He doesn’t want to ‘kidnap the truth’ (love that), he just wants to know (‘you don’t know’) why his love is treating him the way she is. ‘Before I Fall To Pieces’ is another track from the hugely successful self-titled second album that became a massive hit for the band, and still receives a lot of love from fans when they play it live.

3. ‘Stumble And Fall‘

(Up All Night, 2004)

The rolling drums, the groovy bassline, the gentle guitar: all join in a matter of moments, before thumping into the second-best track on Razorlight’s fantastic debut. ‘Stumble And Fall’ sounds like chasing the afters once you’ve staggered out of whatever hellhole indie club you happened to be in. It’s warm beers purchased for inflated prices at the Turkish corner shop and rationing cigarettes while your mate tries to fix the broken zip on his pixie boots. Great fun.

2. ‘In The Morning‘

(Razorlight, 2006)

Dang, this song is still SO catchy. Listening back, it really is impossible to not bop along to ‘In The Morning’. This was arguably the song that elevated them above their scrubby indie-sleaze associations and shot them into Radio 2 territory, but hey. Good for them, right? Plus, that ‘are you really gonna do it this time’ breakdown is brilliant live.

1. ‘Golden Touch‘

(Up All Night, 2004)

Tapping into every indie girl’s complicated, ballet flat-wearing heart, ‘Golden Touch’ was like Johnny Borrell (and those floppy curls) had written a lovely yet cautionary song just for us. Here he was, telling us to not ‘give away too much’ to the men looking to steal our magic and the friends that slagged us off behind our backs, and boy, did it ever resonate. This was an age where indie girls, with their choppy bangs and off-shoulder t-shirts, had real swagger, and ‘Golden Touch’ was our anthem. Empowering and quite simply brilliant, thank you Razorlight for reminding us how powerful we actually were.