Velociraptor!
by Kasabian
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Sep 20, 2011
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
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  1. musicOMH.com
    Sep 20, 2011
    90
    Love them or loathe them, it is hard to ignore the brash confidence with which the band take another giant stride towards stadium dominance.
  2. The Boston Phoenix
    Sep 20, 2011
    88
    For the most part, Velociraptor! is a stellar representation of K-sabes magnificence and dexterity.
  3. AllMusic
    Sep 30, 2011
    80
    Kasabian have been a band of post-Brit-pop possibilities from the get go, so bringing in techno, ethnic sounds, and an orchestra is coming home for this impudent crew.
  5. Boston Globe
    Sep 27, 2011
    80
    Brain tickling aside, this is a supremely enjoyable, stylish, and modern-sounding record, which isn't easy to pull off for a guitar band with a tendency to look backward.
  6. Consequence
    Sep 27, 2011
    80
    LP number four adds the Kasabian touch to other genres in an electrifying scattershot that still feels coherent and whole.
  7. Q Magazine
    Sep 21, 2011
    80
    In crafting their best album to date, the Leicester quartet will almost certainly haunt the charts and the airwaves for many, many months to come. [Oct 2011, p.114]
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  8. Uncut
    Sep 20, 2011
    80
    Velociraptor! makes good on the pair's loud-mouthed claims by stripping away previous excess. [Oct 2011, p.91]
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  9. The Independent (UK)
    Sep 20, 2011
    80
    As on the splendid West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, Kasabian talk a good fight with Velociraptor--and if the results don't quite bear out the bluster, that's probably more a reflection of the excellence of its predecessor than a measure of its own shortcomings.
  10. Mojo
    Sep 19, 2011
    80
    Kasabian have always talked a great album, but Velociraptor! sees them deliver with verve and imagination. [Oct 2011, p.94]
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  11. The Guardian
    Sep 19, 2011
    80
    It's the sound of a band growing in confidence and mapping out their future.
  12. New Musical Express (NME)
    Sep 19, 2011
    80
    This is an album with much to love about it, but it falls just short of their real game-changer, West Ryder.
  13. The Telegraph (UK)
    Sep 19, 2011
    80
    Their fourth album is their best yet: bright, poppy and exciting.
  14. Paste Magazine
    Sep 21, 2011
    72
    While Kasabian has proven its ability to construct impressive, tightly-wound songs that succeed on their own terms as genre exercises of sorts, they haven't been able to blend those disparate elements together into something they can truly call their own.
  15. PopMatters
    Dec 9, 2011
    70
    It's retro and ridiculous; it's music that sounds like what tight trousers strutting down the boulevard with maximum attitude looks like, and it will likely sound even better in an arena filled with thousands upon thousands of partisan fanatics.
  16. No Ripcord
    Oct 6, 2011
    70
    For Kasabian fans this will be a fine, perhaps even happy result--another album in a similar vein to satiate your lust for new music, but the nagging thought catches as it wonders how new, interesting or innovative any of this really is; the short answer is no, it's not.
  17. Slant Magazine
    Sep 26, 2011
    70
    Even if Velociraptor! isn't quite the album the band promised it would be (it's practically impossible for Kasabian to live up to their own self-conjured hype), it should be enough to prolong their tenure as British rock royalty.
  18. Alternative Press
    Sep 20, 2011
    70
    Velociraptor! is an energetic, upbeat, gleeful pastiche of almost every form of English pop devised over the past four decades. If you're gonna be a dinosaur, might as well be a fast one.
  19. Clash Music
    Sep 19, 2011
    70
    If you love Kasabian you might think Velociraptor! is a 9/10 album, but for the rest of us it's a salt-seasoned, Spielberg-sponsored 7/10.
  20. American Songwriter
    Oct 13, 2011
    60
    The "big-in-England" quartet's fourth release is more of the same that made them so admired overseas;ie trippy yet expansive psychedelic Brit-pop sung and played with attitude (some may say ego), a whip smart attention to melody and an arena sensibility/swagger that screams "rock stars."
  21. BBC Music
    Sep 20, 2011
    60
    Velociraptor! is neither the classic Pizzorno insists it is, nor the numbskull stadium rock cynics will presume it is.
  22. Sputnikmusic
    Sep 19, 2011
    60
    So while Velociraptor! takes us to a few different destinations than we may have expected, it is ultimately going to elicit the same divisive response which its three predecessors did.
  23. Drowned In Sound
    Sep 20, 2011
    50
    For the most part, it feels like either overweening confidence or desire to snare rudderless Oasis fans has led to Kasabian attempting the sort of conventional guitar pop record that they've always so successfully avoided making.
  24. The Observer (UK)
    Sep 19, 2011
    40
    Simple Pleasures aside, Kasabian sound a little less desperate to prove themselves to Oasis fans this time around.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 74 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 74
  3. Negative: 2 out of 74
  1. clem666
    May 3, 2021
    6
    'Velociraptor!' contains as many fillers as it contains bright ideas. Kasabian digs further into rock'n'roll but also manage to get closer to'Velociraptor!' contains as many fillers as it contains bright ideas. Kasabian digs further into rock'n'roll but also manage to get closer to other sounds and genres like the synths on 'Neon Noon' and 'I Hear Voices' or the electro beats on 'Switchblade Smiles'. The quality of melodies oscillate between honestly flat and just surprising, without ever being truly rewarding. The whole product remains almost interesting to listen to even if Kasabian clearly state not to propose anything new or crazy-original.

    They do here what they apparently can do at their best: getting a deep breath of their inspirations and release them back almost perfectly like they were before. Fortunately the band recieved an appropriate help to get their own identity. It is far from being achieved but it still remains a step in the right direction.    … Full Review »
  2. nirvanafreak
    Aug 19, 2015
    8
    Rating:9.5/10
    Fav Tracks:I Hear Voices,Velociraptor!,Re-Wired
    Least Fav Tracks:Neon Noon I would have said this was 6/10 4 years ago. God,    Rating:9.5/10
    Fav Tracks:I Hear Voices,Velociraptor!,Re-Wired
    Least Fav Tracks:Neon Noon
    I would have said this was 6/10 4 years ago. God, I was dumb as **** This is Kasabian's 4th album and to me it's their best. The album is just such a nice fusion of genres, most notably electronic and indie rock, and this really keeps the listener on their toes throughout the record. The band never hover on the same sound or vibe for too long and they don't overdo the electronic instrumentation. It sounds like Kasabian are really having fun on this record (I mean the titular track is just such a joy to hear it makes you wanna bounce off the walls) and when needed, the vocalist Tom really transmits his high energy to the listener. I love that album cover as well, it's great that they finally made use of Sergio's beautiful hair     … Full Review »
  3. axelkoch
    Nov 27, 2012
    7
    Kind of album you'll hear while getting high. Everything here seems very drug-alike, the voice, the lyrics or the sound of the music. I reallyKind of album you'll hear while getting high. Everything here seems very drug-alike, the voice, the lyrics or the sound of the music. I really enjoy chilling to this album with songs like "Acid Turkish Bath", "La Fée Verte" or "Days Are Forgotten". The best track on the CD is, of course, the 2nd single "Re-Wired", which is a great rock track, in contrast to the rest of 'Velociraptor!'. The tunes are catchy and the songs are diversive. It's nothing really spectacular but defintely good work.… Full Review »
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