Keane postponement casts cloud over Razorlight

NEW YORK (Billboard) - UK rock outfit Razorlight has returned to U.S. shores to promote its self-titled second effort, though its stay may be brief.

Originally intending to tour the U.S. with compatriot band Keane, Razorlight has cut those plans short after Keane postponed the dates in order for singer Tom Chaplin to undergo drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

"So there's that. Plus, somebody lost my guitar at the airport today. It's the only one in the world like it. So as you can tell," Razorlight frontman Johnny Borell told Billboard.com with a laugh, "there's a few things still up in the air."

"Razorlight" was released Tuesday via Universal Motown and features what Borell described as "10 singles. A struggle for us is trying to convince people that we're not just a band that sounds like a lot of other bands. We want to sound distinctively Razorlight," he said. "We also didn't want to make the exact same record again with a different distortion pedal."

Compared to the quartet's 2004 debut "Up All Night," Borell considered "Razorlight" to be a significantly more "confident, positive and defiant" record, with a focus on strong songs.

"'Up All Night' was a great debut for us, it's what we needed to do," he said. "But it was four proper songs, then a whole lot of thrashing about."

As for touring in support of the release, the group has a handful of dates (http://www.myspace.com/razorlight) in Japan and the UK scheduled for the fall. And while it had originally scheduled performances independent of Keane this week and next in New York and Los Angeles, Razorlight is likely to cancel those shows.

Aside from promoting the new album, Borell was also recently invited into the studio by

Ray Davies as a backing vocalist for a re-recording of the Kinks' "Sunny Afternoon."

"I get there, and quickly discover that

Elvis Costello was invited as well," Borell said. "I don't know if he's going to do anything with (the track), but at least I was able to meet two more of my English music heroes."

Reuters/Billboard