Velociraptor: The World Warriors

- Brisbane's rowdy party-starting purveyors of all things loosey and/or goosey have always taken the edge off a little bit, the refreshing wine spritzer after a long day at work before you trudge home to whatever sorrows you left at the door on your way out. Built primarily around the handsome yet also talented frontman, Jeremy Neale and spliced with perennial tub thumping genes of (blood) brothers that are the act formerly known as DZ, Velociraptor have ballooned from the original 3 to upwards of 12 party dogs, logistics permitting- amassing assets from a plethora of other banging Brisbane bands. While some say less is more, Scottish-mega-snakes Mogwai once proved to my young and prudish self that more was in fact, just plain more- especially when guitars are involved. While admittedly Mogwai and Velociraptor have about as much in common as a carrot and an ageing mans wilting arm, the point remains largely the same. Despite hoofin' it around the traps for a decent innings and working the kids into heinous frenzies whenever they can assemble themselves in the same room, Velociraptor have never committed much to wax, with only a 5 track EP and a string of teaser singles to their name thus far in this journey which we refer to as life. After the best part of two years gone Velociraptor have blasted their way back into our collective conscience with their new mini-LP, the ambitiously titled The World Warriors, which despite not being an album proper, still gives me enough sustenance to not starve quite to death, this time around finding ways to extend their charm and energy far beyond that 2 minute mark that has been about the point in which most Velociraptor songs usually wrap up. In the past Velociraptor have dabbled in throwback, brash, infectious jangly music that induces an almost terrifyingly large amount of foot tapping and head shaking, songs that pick up steam fast and don't overstay their welcome, like the life of the party if the life of the party knew when enough was enough and didn't stick around stinking up the joint. The tracks found here show a band that continue to tighten and tinker with their sound, building on and expanding upon previous ideas without fear of truly freaking anybody out. Velociraptor bring the ruckus and don't apologise for it, and when Jeremy Neale claims he's a junior astronaut and also not the worst thing I've ever seen I'm bound to believe him- he's definitely very adamant about it and he also does do a very surprisingly endearing homage to Brian Wilson on the most overtly surfy track the band have composed, the record closer "Surf City Raptors", a track that drips sunshine and sweats good vibes. I've got this nagging feeling that pretty soon the rest of the world will catch on to Velociraptor and I'm already not looking forward to the point we will have to make that hard decision to turn our backs on them forever, casting them off onto a raft of dizzying success and mind-melting compromise. Stay strong you tiny diamonds. I'll look forward by looking back, by playing that infectious spaceman song that sees the group back to two minute mode for a brief blast from the past.

- Jay Edwards.