Nominally labelled their debut album despite the traction garnered with 2012 mini-LP, The World Warriors, Velociraptor finds the amorphous Brisbane collective maturing and upgrading their focus from simply starting parties to actually consolidating relationships with people encountered whilst on the tear. The 11 tracks remain largely upbeat and hook-laden, but the lyrical focus has developed to incorporate motifs of heartbreak, remorse and contemplation without compromising the fun and frivolity so integral to their considerable charm.
It’s still clearly Jeremy Neale’s baby, the frontman contributing nine songs, although the two offerings from the band’s Euro bureau – James Boyd’s typically laconic All You Need and Josh Byrd’s sweetly meandering I Don’t Know Why – add desired depth and scope. Of the remainder, standouts include the mellow Ramones vibe of opener, Robocop, the jangly rumination of Sneakers, the sophisticated bubblegum waft of One Last Serenade (featuring Bloods’ Sweetie Zamora) and ludicrously infectious lead single, Ramona. There’s substantial restraint on display for such a behemoth line-up, with no messy banks of guitars and mass vocals used to enhance rather than hammer.
At the high (quality) end of the spectrum it’s always been a fine line between top-notch garage and pop-rock, and with Velociraptor the ‘Raptors have tipped from the former camp into the latter with considerable panache, reliant on nothing more than strong songwriting, solid musicianship, an admirable gang camaraderie and – despite the heartache – a tangible joie de vivre. A few chords plus friends equals fun.
