Review: Razorlight

It's time to check your cynicism at the door and prepare to re-enter the '80s. Grab a skinny tie and a pastel jacket on the way, and then settle in for a musical retrospective. Razorlight's eponymous second album is infused with catchy pop hooks and melodies that channel everything from English Beat, INXS and the Beatles to - swear to God - '50s girl-group doo-wop on "Who Needs Love."

It's all upbeat and good fun. If you're looking for irony and cutting edge music, keep moving. Razorlight's lyrics, all written by frontman Johnny Borrell, are openly nostalgic for a more innocent time. Witness the chorus of "Kirby's House": "I get drunk and sentimental / I need a touch that is gentle / Take me to a house I can live in."

Razorlight is an innocuous and easily digestible trip down memory lane. "Before I Fall To Pieces" conjures up the Beatles, at their energetic, mop-top shaking best. "Hold On" even breaks out a tambourine, which leads us to wonder what Laurie Partridge is up to these days. In Razorlight's parallel universe, she's probably wearing a flowery tunic and bopping to the beat, and the Partridge Family is getting ready to climb back on the bus and head out on tour.

Perhaps their sanitized version of reality is just the panacea we need. After all, in a world where Danny Bonaduce is a living infomercial for reality TV and rehab, we could all use a dose of sweetness and light.

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