Yew! Today is the day. The new single for Krooked Tongue is out for the masses to hear.
Amplify the Noise got an early sneak listen to the single, and we’ve been spinning it ever since.
“Velociraptor” is the 2nd single from the forthcoming EP that is due later this year.
Oli Rainsford says this of the song,
You have to find space in this fucked up world to have fun, get wasted, kiss and tell. We’re not here for a long time, so it may as well be a good time.
If Krooked Tongue continues with the strength and fierceness of their debut EP, No Vacancy Hotel, then their sophomore EP is going to be pure fire.
There’s a lot going on with “Velociraptor” and that is not a dig at the song at all because there’s so much to love about the song and nothing to dislike about it.
Let’s start off with the bass. Oh my word, the bass. It gives me life. It’s my favourite part of the song. Even when the bass is subtle, Oli Rainsford is there, lurking underneath the guitar and drums, waiting to pounce like a predator. The notes he plays right before the first refrain of, “Kick me in the head and let the darkness take me in…” melts my heart.
And the guitar…lord Jesus, what did guitarist Dan Smith eat for breakfast the morning the song was crafted because I’m going to need that to be a regular part of his diet. The guitars are sticky, catchy, and infectious. At times, the way he strums is almost as if he’s beating his guitar like a drum and it’s thrilling to hear. He’s producing a wonderful wall of sound that seems implausible from one man.
Not to be outshined by his partners in crime, Harry Pritchard is throwing down amazing beats. He is the hook, line, and sinker of the song. Once you hear the beat, it’s too late. “Velociraptor” has you in its teeth and well, you’re doomed. Through Harry’s tightly woven pulse, Oli and Dan are able to effortlessly glide upon it rising and falling as the song requires.
That combined pulse with the guitar and bass allows Oli, who’s doing double duty as the vocalist, to vocally tread through the music with ease. While his voice still has that confident swagger I heard in last year’s “Lupines”, there’s also a wonderful carefree freedom in how he carries his voice and lyrics that wasn’t heard in the previous single.
What’s also fantastic about “Velociraptor” is that it’s so different from “Lupines”. It shows a different side of Krooked Tongue. While “Lupines” was haunting and brooding ,“Velociraptor” is a bold and bright high octane rocker.
I leave you to listen to “Velociraptor” until your ears bleed.
