Velociraptor – The World Warriors mini LP review

The twelve-member strong offshoot of Brisbane thrashers DZ Deathrays; Velociraptor have had to take a backseat to their six-times smaller brothers in arms over the past couple of years. But no more! Velociraptor are back with an eight song ‘Mini-LP’. The fun-size album is packed with a loose garage-rock vibe which favours huge choral vocals and a jack-the-lad British recklessness far removed from the fuzz soaked Bay Area worship of Melbourne’s budding garage scene.

The fear for Velociraptor would be to contain the potentially seven-guitar-led barrage into a concise listening experience. In this regard, the band succeeds. The guys sound bright and brazen, but manage to avoid turning the album into a distorted durge.

Garage rock has for a long time been about reimagining what has come before, paying homage to previous generations of slacker-pop while bringing something new to the aesthetic. In this regard, Velociraptor fail. The band either sound far too much like The Kinks, as on opener ‘Cynthia’ or ‘Mystery Man’; or too much like The Hives, as on ‘Do the Ruby’ or the chorus for ‘Scientists’. In almost every song it sounds as if the band’s inspiration is “fuck Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist has a rad scream. Why don’t we get all seven of our singers to scream like him….all the time! Genius!”

Velociraptor are far from the first band to sound too close to the band’s they love, and it’s not altogether a problem. They sound like they’d be a riot on stage. And they do write some damn catchy chorus’. Wait until summer comes around, and The World Warriors will be the perfect soundtrack to any road trip. As they woo on Beach Boys-homage closer ‘Surf City Raptors’ “Come on and surf with me.”

Tagged Beach Boys, Brisbane, DZ Deathrays, garage, mini lp, Surf, The Hives, The Kinks, the world warriors, Velociraptor