The trouble started before anyone heard the whole record. On September 8, 2008, the English indie-rock group Razorlight premiered their new single 'Wire to Wire' on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show. The song introduced the new record on its own terms. Johnny Borrell, the singer and guitarist, had written most of the album's tracks by himself. On November 3, 2008, the full album, Slipway Fires, arrived on Mercury and Vertigo. The album ran 38 minutes, and its mastering was completed by Robin Schmidt at 24-96 Mastering. A digital edition for iTunes added the bonus track 'Where the Frequencies Run Deep and Wild'.
A new producer and a split lineup
It was the third studio album from a group that had been riding high. Now they were back with a producer, Mike Crossey, and sessions split between Air Studios and Fish Factory Studios in London. The lineup on the record was Borrell, guitarist Björn Ågren, bassist Carl Dalemo, and drummer Andy Burrows. Burrows also contributed as a writer: he and Borrell created 'Hostage of Love', the album's second single, along with '60 Thompson', 'Stinger', and 'Burberry Blue Eyes'.
The first single did its job commercially. 'Wire to Wire' reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart, proof that radio and fans were still willing to follow Borrell wherever he wanted to go. But the album itself landed in a strange place. In the UK Albums Chart it climbed to number 4, and in Germany it matched that position. Ireland put it at number 8. Even the US Billboard 200 noticed, where it reached number 23. The public, at least in parts of Europe, was still buying.
The critical verdict on Metacritic
Critics were not. On Metacritic, which collects reviews into one score, Slipway Fires sat at 52 out of 100, based on 15 reviews. The Guardian gave it 3 out of 5 stars, which counted as one of the kinder verdicts. NME scored it 2 out of 5. Rolling Stone landed on 2.5 out of 5. The message was consistent: this was a band that had traded its sharp edges for something softer, more polished, and less convincing. The album was short, but many reviewers felt it dragged. AllMusic gave it 2.5 out of 5, while DIY and Slant Magazine each settled on 1.5 out of 5. Sputnikmusic rated it 2 out of 5.
The cover art fed the sense of a band changing identity. The photograph was taken by Paul Rider, with Johnny Photo and David Ellis also involved. The concept was developed by Borrell and a designer named Colli, who handled the art direction and design. It was a far cry from the raw, flash-lit imagery of the band's early years. Everything about Slipway Fires looked and sounded like a deliberate step toward something more serious, more adult. Whether that step worked depended on whom you asked.
The numbers told a split story. The album reached number 4 in the UK and Germany, number 7 in Scotland, and number 8 in Ireland. Yet in France it stalled at number 62, in the Netherlands at 88, and in Belgian Wallonia it barely registered at 94. By the end of 2009, Germany's year-end chart placed it at number 36, a sign that European listeners kept playing it long after the reviews had faded. For a record so widely dismissed by the press, it refused to disappear. In Switzerland the album reached number 39, and in Austria it climbed to number 10.
Razorlight's next album, Olympus Sleeping, did not arrive until 2018, ten years after Slipway Fires. That long silence made the third album feel like an ending of sorts, a moment when a band that had once led the British indie scene stepped back and let the noise settle. The critics had their say, the fans kept buying, and the band stayed quiet. Slipway Fires remains the sound of a group caught between two versions of itself, and neither one fully winning.
Slipway Fires remains the sound of a group caught between two versions of itself, and neither one fully winning.