America (Razorlight song)
| "America" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Razorlight | |||||||
| from the album Razorlight | |||||||
| B-side | "Teenage Logic", "Fine" | ||||||
| Released | 2 October 2006 | ||||||
| Format | 7" single, CD single | ||||||
| Genre | Indie rock | ||||||
| Length | 4:10 | ||||||
| Label | Mercury, Vertigo | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Johnny Borrell, Andy Burrows | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Chris Thomas | ||||||
| Certification | Silver (UK) | ||||||
| Razorlight singles chronology | |||||||
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'America' is a song by English indie rock band Razorlight, and is the fourth track to their self-titled second studio album, Razorlight (2006). It was written by Johnny Borrell and Andy Burrows (credited to Borrell, Burrows, and Razorlight) and was also released as the second single from that album in October 2006.
The song garnered a negative reception from critics for its attempt at both political commentary and transatlantic crossover appeal. "America" became the band's first and only number-one single in the United Kingdom and was the country's 17th best selling single of that year. The song also peaked within the top 10 in Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand, and within the top 40 in Austria, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Germany.
Critical reception
"America" received generally negative reviews from music critics who found its attempt at serious commentary laughable and pretentious. Adam Zacharias of Drowned in Sound panned the song for cribbing the same lyrics from the previous single "In the Morning" and for coming off as trite commentary for the mass public, calling it "a terrible piece of faux-sentiment".[1] Liz Colville of Stylus Magazine criticized the song's attempt at being a blue-collar anthem in the vein of Bruce Springsteen but without his particular musicianship.[2] Michael Lomas of PopMatters called the song "soft rock hell", saying that it checklists every cliché of that criterion that makes it come off as similar to Foreigner and Boston than U2 of The Joshua Tree.[3]
John Murphy of MusicOMH was mixed towards the song, saying that it has the right amount of intimacy but found the lyrics "facile at best".[4] Doug Kamin of ARTISTdirect praised Borrell's delivery of the song's overall message, saying that, "It's sung without judgment or criticism and could grab the ears of rock and pop lovers on both sides of the pond."[5]
Track listings
7" 1705367
- "America"
- "Wilfred Owen" (demo)
7" 1705369
- "America"
- "Down to the Coast" (demo)
CD 1705368
- "America"
- "Teenage Logic"
- "Fine"
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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See also
References
- ↑ Zacharias, Adam (12 October 2006). "Single Review: Razorlight - America". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ Colville, Liz (1 August 2006). "Razorlight - Razorlight". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ Lomas, Michael (29 September 2006). "Razorlight: Razorlight". PopMatters. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ Murphy, John (17 July 2006). "Razorlight - Razorlight". MusicOMH. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ Kamin, Doug. "Razoright by Razorlight". ARTISTdirect. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Razorlight – America" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Razorlight – America" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Razorlight – America" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Razorlight – America" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Razorlight – America". GfK Entertainment Charts.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Razorlight – America" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Razorlight – America". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Razorlight – America". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Razorlight: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Top 40 Singles of 2006". BBC Radio 1.