"Velociraptor!" Kasabian (Columbia)
"Velociraptor!," the fourth offering from British rockers Kasabian, is destined to become a modern classic.
Recorded in their hometown of Leicester and mixed in San Francisco, "Velociraptor!" is written and produced by Kasabian's Sergio Pizzorno. The 11-track album is bursting at the seams with full-on anthemic indie rock that this British four-piece is known for. Influences of Primal Scream, the Chemical Brothers, Led Zeppelin to The Beatles scream out.
Not leaving anything to chance, the band kicks things off with a catchy psychedelic pop song, "Let's Roll Just Like We Used To," a love letter to their days living on a Welsh farm (where they recorded 2004's "Empire"). It's crying out to be featured in an angst-ridden, coming-of-age movie.
The tribal bass and infectious vocal chant of "Days Are Forgotten" will have the masses singing along, while "Goodbye Kiss" is as un-Kasabian as it gets — no brash guitars, just a sweet flowing love song.
Tom Meighan takes the vocal lead on the melancholic "Le Fee Verte." "How does it feel, to live your life when nothing is real, so just send me down the river," he warbles, sounding like McCartney in Wings.
"Acid Turkish Bath (Shelter From The Storm)" is a Led Zeppelin-inspired, Middle Eastern psychedelic effort, while "Man of Simple Pleasures" starts off sounding like the Gorillaz (not surprising, as Gorillaz producer Dan the Automater , who worked on Kasbian's "West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum," lends a hand on this album too).
"Velociraptor!" is as rock 'n' roll as it gets and should catapult Kasabian to the next level.
CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: "Switchblade Smile" is a proper Kasabian ride with electro-phased beats, heavy guitar riff, and tribal vocals all in one chaotic mass.