"America" is a song by English

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band

Razorlight Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Delemo ...

, included as the fourth track on their self-titled second studio album (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 on 2 October 2006. The song garnered a negative reception from critics for its attempt at both political commentary and transatlantic crossover appeal. Nevertheless, "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". Liz Colville of '' Stylus Magazine'' criticised the song's attempt at being a

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anthem in the vein of Bruce Springsteen but without his particular musicianship. Michael Lomas of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' called the song " soft rock hell", saying that it checklists every cliché of that criteria that makes it come off as similar to Foreigner and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

than U2 of ''

The Joshua Tree ''The Joshua Tree'' is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release, ' ...

''. 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". Doug Kamin of

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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."

Track listings

UK 7-inch single :A. "America" :B. "Down to the Coast" (demo) UK limited-edition 7-inch single :A. "America" :B. "Wilfred Owen" (demo) UK maxi-CD single # "America" # "Teenage Logic" # "Fine" European CD single # "America" # "Teenage Logic"

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:America (Razorlight Song) 2006 singles 2006 songs British soft rock songs Mercury Records singles Razorlight songs Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Songs about the United States Songs written by Andy Burrows Songs written by Johnny Borrell UK Singles Chart number-one singles Vertigo Records singles