Velociraptor! [CD]

Kasabian have released some very interesting music since their debut album, the highlight of their career being the formidable "West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum". Their fourth release "Velociraptor!" is just as intriguing as its choice of title with a mixture of different styles that cascade together in this very well thought out project.

The stomping opener "Let's Roll Just Like We Used To" is one of the highlights of the album for me and is a mesmerising song blending Rock, Pop, Blues, Funk and Grunge from different decades and eras. The following track "Days Are Forgotten" is just as explosive with colliding drum beats and bass, strong Funk and Rock influences and an addictive melody. Although "Goodbye Kiss" is an accomplished 70's inspired Rock ballad with a memorable melody, "La Fee Verte" is a slightly repetitive and monotonous Blur-esque Pop Rock song and is probably my least favorite track on here. The title track "Velociraptor!" brings back the energy of the first two tracks with great enthusiasm. "Acid Turkish Bath" wanders between Rock, Pop and Funk and is brilliantly arranged, sounding majestic even epic at times. "I Hear Voices" is more hypnotic lending itself to Dance and 80's Pop arrangements, but it fits in perfectly alongside the Rock numbers. "Re-Wired" is a punchy Rock track with a vibrant chorus and vocals. "Man Of Simple Pleasures" also has a great chorus which adds to the songs intrigue. "Switchblade Smiles" has a very heavy beat with punchy vocals sounding like a Hip-Hop, Dance and Rock influenced anthem - quite spectacular, making it the third highlight on this album. The final track "Neon Noon" is a sleepy guitar led ballad and works very well as an album closer once the hypnotic beat kicks in.

"Velociraptor!" certainly lives up to its predecessor and is another superb album from Kasabian. They seem to have found their groove with their last two releases and much needed consistency, confidence and maturity. I must say that I am very impressed with this fourth effort and I am looking forward to hearing what they will do next.

Kasabian return with album number 4 the weirdly titled "Velociraptor", so it should come as no surprise that this is one of Kasabian's most ambitious albums to date, not bad for a band that has seen lazy journalism call Kasabian, Oasis clones and labelled them lad rock. While Kasabian might share some of Oasis confidence and swagger their music has always been more closely linked to Primal Scream, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and even 70's glam rock. A quick look back at their 3 previous albums would show a band not scared to experiment with different styles and sounds.

The album opens with "Let's Roll Like We Used To" which sees songwriter Serge Pizzorno looking back at the early days before they made it big. It's a good start to the album. On "Days Are Forgotten" the track starts off with some big beats and a funky groove and has Tom cheekily singing "You say i'm old hat, a f***in' dirty rat, call me cliche, how right you are", which is a nice dig at their critics. There's the brilliance of the Beatles-esque sounding "La Fée Verte" which is sung by Pizzorno. Add that to Kraftwerk sounding "I Hear Voices" and it shows that Kasabian are willing to experiment in as many styles of music as possible.

The title track "Velociraptor!" is a big sounding stomp that has Tom spitting out his lyric's, not to many bands could pull off a song about a dinosaur with out sounding stupid. There's the epic "Acid Turkish Bath (Shelter from the Storm)" which at over 6 minutes long sounds like Kashmir era Led Zeppelin. The album features two big tracks that are made for playing live the brilliant "Re-Wired" with its big chorus and the beat driven "Switchblade Smiles" a song that won't full be appreciated until it's played live.

With the deluxe edition you get the full near 2 hour show from the O2 in Dublin, Ireland from November 2009 on region free DVD, it's mixed in full surround as well. The Deluxe Edition comes in a white box set and contains the lyrics of all the tracks as well as poster of the black artwork of the album. One drawback of the white is that it marks really easy so it's best to handle with care!

With every album kasabian seem to make another stride musically, and "Velociraptor!" is no exception. For a band that talk big and don't lack confidence it's important they back it up strong musically and with "Velociraptor!" they certainly do. This could be the album that takes Kasabian from the arenas to Stadium Headliners!

After my first listen of Velociraptor!, I thought that it was only a little better than average. However, after a few more spins the album made a lot more sense to me, and I am pleased to confirm that it is far from being a disappointment.

The first three tracks are very strong (Let's Roll Like We Used To, Days Are Forgotten and Goodbye Kiss). Then comes La Fee Verte which marks a turning point in the album into some more Psychedelic and Experimental territory. La Fee Verte has some nice lyrics and wouldn't sound out of place on Kasabian's brilliant 3rd album WRPLA. Then comes Velociraptor! I'll be honest and admit that before I'd heard the album as a whole I was a little concerned about the, shall we say, "simplicity" of the lyrics in this track. However, I feel that it does the same job in the album as, for example "She's Electric" or "Digsy's Diner" do in both of Oasis' decent albums. Basically, when you hear the track Velociraptor! amongst the other tracks in the album it seems to fit, and make a lot more sense.

Acid Turkish Bath seems to have drawn a lot of comparisons to Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir". And while there are certain similarities, I think on the whole the tracks are very incomparable. While Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" is driven by the songs main riff, Acid Turkish Bath is very much more about the songs lyrics and melody. It is however one of the high points of the album.

I Hear Voices is one of my least favourite tracks, however due to its stand-out riff I don't consider it bad at all. I feel it fits the album well, however it is just a little average. "Re-Wired" follows, and is one of the strongest tracks of the album. It has a great bass-line and a stomping verse, bridge and chorus.

Man of Simple Pleasures sounds a little close to one of Gorillaz most famous tracks to begin with (I can't name it as I don't listen to Gorillaz). However, it later turns into a fairly nice chorus. Possibly one of the weakest tracks, but still nice in parts and certainly isn't a track you'd want to 'skip'.

Switchblade Smiles splits opinion - but I personally think it is very good. It sounds different to most of the album, and will remind most of the stuff on their debut. The final track Neon Noon is the weakest track on the album. Perhaps I need a few more listens, but I don't really 'get it'. I think that if the final track of the album was as strong, as say, the final track of Empire then the album would receive an extra star in most people's review (including mine).

So there we have it, a track by track review of Velociraptor!

While it isn't quite as good as the brilliant WRPLA, it is still a definite purchase for anyone who enjoys Kasabian, or similar artists.