2011 Review: Velociraptor!

I'm back guise, and I am returning with Chris on the side bench! But since he's a lazy c*nt, I'm writing the second review by myself. Following the trend of reviewing 2011 with its music, here we have Kasabian's Velociraptor!. Being the first Kasabian album I've heard, I can't compare it to the others, but that won't stop me writing a review for one of 2011's best releases.

Adding Catchiness to a contributing factor to the score, since apparently that was needed.

Kasabian went into the adventurous side of things with their 4th album, Velociraptor!. This album takes a lot of influence from the creative Alt. Rock songs of the 90's (think songs like D'You Know What I Mean? and Discothèque) and folds them into a style that has a fewer jagged edges than when compared to its influences. Velociraptor is an album that chooses to rely on catchy hooks and run-off riffs to propel itself forward, instead of deep lyrical content.

The songs on the album have their own personalities, with Switchblade Smiles straying far from its album's genre and toward a more Garage style, and La Fee Verté taking the psychedelic path of rock. Even with all this genre mashing, the album still doesn't overwhelm and keeps rocking. Velociraptor! is a good example of how to make something sound different whilst still staying relevant.

Ratings:

Composition - One of the most finely composed Indie Rock albums for a long time. A lot of influence could indeed be drawn from the Indie genre based off this album alone.
9/10

Structure - Structure is irrelevant to this album, as the song arrangement wouldn't make a blind spot of difference if it was changed. The songs are just that powerful and independent, while remaining relevant to each other.
8/10

Creativity - You could argue that this album isn't creative, as it does borrow a lot of influence from psychedelia and alternative music. Nevertheless, this album has its own distinctive sound.
7/10

Passion - A lack of emotion? Definitely. This album isn't there to make you weep and rejoice respectively. Not to mention the strange lyrical content which will be further discussed below.
3/10

Lyrics - Songs about breaking wrists, hunting rabbits and sleeping with policemen? What? Then again, Kasabian aren't aiming for the next Wonderwall here, really.
4/10

Catchiness - Some songs are arguably catchier than others, but the album overall does a very good job of keeping a structured sound which does keep you wanting more.
9/10