Did Razorlight create "landfill indie"? Here's what Johnny Borrell said

19 May 2024, 13:00

By Radio X

@RadioX

The frontman apologised for "f**kig it up for everyone" with his song Before I Fall To Pieces.

Remember when Johnny Borrell claimed that Razorlight was responsible for "mediocrity in British music"?

In 2016, the frontman reflected back on his career with Noisey and explored the concept of "Landfill Indie".

After talking about the likes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Libertines, Borrell soon turned the spotlight on himself, and Razorlight's 2006 Before I Fall To Pieces single.

Discussing the track from their self-titled second album, he said: "So here’s where we totally f**ked it up for everyone.

"I think you can kind of say that in 2006, at the start of this video, music was in quite an interesting place. Then three-and-a-half minutes later it's f**ked."

Razorlight - Before I Fall To Pieces

He added: "I think the second Razorlight album definitely opened the way for a flood of mediocrity in UK music."

Borrell didn't stop there either, adding that The Ordinary Boys were "pretty forgettable" and that Kings Of Leon's Sex On Fire is "basically the apex, death and afterlife of landfill indie all in one go".

He did take time to redeem himself, adding: "In my defence, though, people think of Razorlight as some kind of Johnny Borrell solo project, but it was always collaborative."

Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows wrote the hit America and later went on to work with Editors' Tom Smith, We Are Scientists and produced the soundtrack for the Ricky Gervais vehicle David Brent: Life On The Road.

Razorlight's last album was 2018's Olympus Sleeping.

One of the more unexpected repercussions of Borrell's comments was that plenty of people on Twitter started to use the hashtage #indieamnesty and admitted to quite enjoying this period of music:

Even Fred from Spector got involved:

The last word goes to Bill Ryder-Jones of The Coral: