Released 28 June 2004 Up All Night
(2004) Razorlight
(2006) Release date 28 June 2004 | Length 45:49 Artist Razorlight Label Vertigo Records | |
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Recorded Sphere Studios, London, England Producers John Cornfield, Steve Lillywhite, Johnny Borrell Genres Indie rock, Post-punk revival Similar Slipway Fires, Razorlight, Hats Off to the Buskers, Up the Bracket, Which Bitch? |
Razorlight rock n roll lies
Up All Night is the debut album by English indie rock band Razorlight, released on 28 June 2004. The album was mainly recorded at Sawmills Studio and mixed at Sphere Studios by John Cornfield.
Contents
- Razorlight rock n roll lies
- Razorlight leave me alone
- Critical reception
- Track listing
- Singles
- Songs
- References
The album garnered favourable reviews but critics questioned the band's influence-filled musicianship throughout the tracks. Up All Night peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned six singles: "Rock 'N' Roll Lies", "Rip It Up", "Stumble and Fall", "Golden Touch", "Vice" and "Somewhere Else".
On 4 June 2014, the band, with only lead singer Johnny Borrell remaining from the line-up which recorded the album, played at the Electric Ballroom in Camden to mark Up All Night's 10th anniversary.
Razorlight leave me alone
Critical reception
Up All Night received positive reviews but music critics were divided by the overall musicianship resembling that of bands both classic and recent. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65 based on 16 reviews.
Tim Jonze of NME gave the album high praise for Johnny Borrell's sharp street poetry and the band's instrumentation for giving Borrell the right amount of strength and control to sing them, saying that "For all its flaws, Up All Night bristles with passion, energy and, most importantly, amazing songs." Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone praised Borrell for backing up his bravado with tracks that exude tight lyrics and optimism, saying that "Up All Night is a brilliant mod explosion of scruffy pub punk, in the mode of his old friends the Libertines." Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian said the album's various influence-filled tracks get by on Borrell being able to deliver them with gusto and conviction, concluding that "Originality may not be Razorlight's strong point, but Borrell's raw charisma carries the day." Richard Banks of BBC praised the band's commitment to delivering upbeat three-chord punk tracks while still being to able to make it wholly original, concluding that "With a debut this good, Razorlight are a band that deserve to do very, very well."
Mark Edwards of Stylus Magazine was mixed about the album, saying that the band utilize the basic rock 'n' roll formula to craft catchy tracks but then they sputter out in terms of inspiration to create nondescript material. He concluded with, "This is a good debut album—no more, no less. The second album could very well be as good as they think this one is. But they’re going to have to wait a while before they get what they so desire." Alex Reicherter of PopMatters said that a majority of the album's tracks that utilize the hedonistic party tale formula work and that any diversions from it fall flat, saying that "though they lack the rapid-fire consistency of their predecessors, they've put together a likable, if completely unoriginal rock record that's sure to get even the dullest of parties onto the police blotter." Nick Sylvester of Pitchfork Media found the album's instrumentation and lyrics derivative of The Strokes and Television, and criticized Borrell's vocal delivery for impersonating said bands' frontmen with no passion, concluding that "Razorlight refuse to meet their influences with anything more than half hugs and limp handshakes, butchering the bits they brazenly borrow, and taking rock 'n' roll apathy to formerly unbelievable lengths."
Track listing
All lyrics written by Johnny Borrell, unless otherwise noted.
Singles
- "Rock ‘N’ Roll Lies" (18 August 2003)
- "Rip It Up" (10 November 2003)
- "Stumble and Fall" (26 January 2004)
- "Golden Touch" (14 June 2004)
- "Vice" (13 September 2004)
- "Rip It Up" was re-released on 29 November 2004 as the last single from the album's initial release.
- "Somewhere Else" (11 April 2005)
- The bonus track on the 2005 re-release.
Songs
1Leave Me Alone
2Rock 'n Roll Lies
3Vice