- After much anticipation, the behemoth that is Brisbane’s ten-piece Velociraptor has finally managed to put out a full-length release. Having charmed the country several times over with their high energy, no-nonsense garage-pop live shows and a swagger of recorded tracks, this latest effort has been keenly awaited all year. Thanks to some strategically titled ‘extended EPs’ and ‘mini LPs,’ this self-titled record is technically Velociraptor’s debut album. Over the years the band has spawned a multitude of side projects and solo acts, and the fact that the majority of the band managed to get together to record in Philly Jays’ frontman Simon Berkfinger’s Berlin studio is an impressive feat in itself.

Listening to the first few tracks, you could easily be forgiven for thinking that there were only four or five people in the band, as the group perhaps demonstrate their collective musical maturity by showing restraint and letting the music breathe. Whether this will ring true of the live versions or not, it’s certainly an interesting direction for a band that has in many ways been about the pure novelty of having such a large, eclectic group making music together. Lead singer Jeremy Neale remains front and centre for the majority of the album, having written all bar two of the tracks, it’s evident that he has done the hard yards to get this project together. Anyone that has enjoyed the prolific songwriter’s solo releases of late will certainly appreciate this record, though it’s difficult to escape the feeling that this material actually isn’t quite as good.

Opening track Robocop sounds like it was taken from a lost 80’s Ramones session. The jangly guitar work, palm muted verses and big, catchy chorus of ‘do do, hey hey’ are hard not to bob along to. Singles Ramona and Sneakers are obvious standouts, filled with Neale’s charm and signature garage-pop guitar hooks, supported by some great vocal arrangements that are strong, but not overpowering.

James Boyd takes the reigns in All You Need, bringing his usual laconic style and mellowed out vocals to the album’s first track that is not penned by Neale. The song itself is not unpleasant, but it fails to bridge the two very different styles and the result is a somewhat jarring effect this early in the album. It’s only when the next track Monster Mash begins and Neale’s signature hooks and riffs return that the extent of the disruption in the album’s flow becomes apparent. After this the album finds it’s pace a bit more with a hint of that early Velociraptor fuzz in Leaches, and a surprisingly twee, yet sophisticated ‘him and her’ duet with Blood’s Sweetie Zamora in One Last Serenade. Joshua Byrd’s track I Don’t Know Why gives the bottom of the album a bit of a shake up, but as with Boyd, it’s just not quite the right sound for this record. Cool Baby Cool is a great finish but it would have been nice to hear this fast-paced energetic romp a little earlier.

Recorded and produced by Berkfinger with the help of Sean Cook and then mixed by Magoo, this album has had a lot of ‘cooks,’ and while no one actually ‘spoiled the broth,’ each has bought their own influences and styles to the table and in the process it feels a bit like Velociraptor, or at least the band many know, got a little lost in the confusion. There’s plenty to love on this album and no doubt once the group get on stage the live setting will transform the inconsistencies into the jumbled mess that is Velociraptor.

- Clare Armstrong.