•
Rating:
When the Kasabian burst onto the scene in 2004 with their brilliant debut, few would have bet on their long-term success.
Many were wrong at this point, perhaps dazzled by the horde of indie bands without art or part swarming the UK music scene. There has always been something different about the music of the band led by the Pizzorno-Meighan duo. Something fascinating, enduring, beguiling, exciting. After a splendid and well-calibrated album like "West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum," they were awaited at the gate. And, wonder of wonders, they managed to do better.
"Velociraptor!" is their most beautiful and complete album, and these two conclusions become clear after just a few listens. The band's new effort lacks nothing; it is a perfect compendium of what Kasabian have been, are, and will be in the future. From the opening "Let's Roll Just Like We Used To" (70s rock opened by delightful Morricone fascinations) to the concluding "Neon Noon", (a delicate number of haute cuisine halfway between krautrock and acoustic songwriting), you are dragged on a journey with multiple and surprising facets.
Come on in, there's room for everyone: two big singles to enjoy, the stellar "Days Are Forgotten" (this time they've really nailed the refrain) and "Switchblade Smiles" (will the Prodigy remember how the game works when they hear it?). Delicate games of pure British songwriting, sometimes dreamy and melodic enough, as in the case of "Goodbye Kiss", sometimes dusted with a healthy sprinkling of zeppelin-esque powdered sugar, see "La Fée Verte". The schizo piece crafted for the usual, incendiary live shows could not be missing, and here it takes the form of the title track, just as it at some point pushes (but really?) on the electronic accelerator, albeit with moderation ("I Hear Voices"). "Acid Turkish Bath (Shelter From The Storm)" reminds us that Kasabian also know how to be "insane" at the right time, yet never lose the compass completely, although they lose it a bit when they attempt to "normalize," as in the case of "Man Of Simple Pleasures", not bad, but not essential. With "Re-Wired", meanwhile, you dance, of course in the manner of the Meighan boys.
Curiosity rises now as to how this excellent and increasingly cohesive and convincing band will develop their path. For now, let's enjoy their best work, interested in what the future holds for us.
Let's roll, then.
Key tracks: La Fée Verte, Velociraptor!, Acid Turkish Bath (Shelter From The Storm), Re-Wired
Tracklist Samples and Videos
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By fibema90
With Velociraptor!, the band creates an album that is different not only from its predecessor but also from Kasabian's earlier work.
This 'Velociraptor!' will certainly make waves and divide the public and critics.
By Gallagher87
"Only the album titles are the senseless thing about the English band."
"Kasabian confirm themselves once again as one of the pinnacle bands of the new British Music movement."
By definitelyalex
Velociraptor! actually turns out to be the most 'commercial' work of Kasabian’s career.
An album that captures you and confirms the great visionary capabilities of Sergio Pizzorno.
By Taurus
"Velociraptor! is the album that definitively consecrates them to the large public."
"A focused and concentrated work, that this time avoids the small moments of boredom that were evident in the previous LP."
