You Bred Raptors? Want rock to be seen through a new set of cameras. We aren’t in the 90s any more, and old rockers whining about new music is white noise. Here is a band that is crafting something with clay that is sourced from another planet. Their album is a collection of songs that challenge you to tick the box where this fits. This is Lysine.
Just the opening track is enough to show what they are capable of. It is like an amalgamation of newspapers from different times. It’s news alright, it just takes a moment to see it all put together. Conclave marries strings, rock guitars and drums with live instrument ecstasy. The result is a delicious concoction that acts on you slowly. Before you know it, you’re knee-deep in their music wormhole.
After the opening epic comes Barnstorm. It sounds like Nicholas Britell went prog rock on a shows ropes, and the result is extremely fun to experience. The orchestral experience is offset from the guitars, bass and drums. It is like watching an orchestral pit with a rock band merged within, wearing tuxes and full suits. If you felt the groove was classical in Barnstorm, the funk comes in with Perimeter. It defines what will be the band’s airtight compositions and performances. Though it is heard everything is performed live, you can feel the chemistry in the songs. You Bred Raptors? is everything you’d expect from a band that made music like this, and named themselves that. It’s equal parts shock and awe, still waiting for the debilitating bedlam that will ensue. To the rock loving palaeontologist, you just whispered in their ear. “Another species of dinosaur exists”.
Why ask genre?
Tango is the true testament to this band stretching their fabric. Consider them to be equivalent of your relatives travelling abroad. Everywhere they go, there’s a souvenir that reminds them of the visit. You Bred Raptors? create a similar notion with their dip in genres. Only that, with this conundrum of instruments, it all sounds interesting and climax orienting. You just don’t know which movie you’re watching. The drum grooves on this one are spectacular. Mollycoddle brings them to reign as the tone lords and riff raconteurs they are. The rhythms are unique and incite a flavour of jazz. Like finding cinnamon flavours in your French toast. Some people know how to do it right.
Whipsaw shows you uncharted territory through mist. At first, you don’t know what you’re looking at, but it’s a world like Avatar. Shipshape shows you the notorious aura that these guys can carry. It’s like being in a detective drama, unlike Cameroon, which is the protagonist’s entrance song. The bassline is delicious, and the theme creates something of a prize piece for this band.
A dictionary through music
You might ask where Dogpile or Waltz take you, and I can give you a weird answer. You’re in the midst of tall, black pillars. Smooth, jagged in some corners. You feel lost, but you aren’t afraid, for you can see the light. It takes you only a while to realise you’re lost in the music sheet of this incredible band, and the demarcated way out is through.
I would not be able to do justice in words the epic that Capsize is. I would picture many of these sings in 21 Grams (2003), by a director who would be able to do justice to these transitions. I’m an Iñárritu fan, but this is an extremely talented band I am an instant fan of. Whatever music they have, I recommend you check out, like I am going to now. Follow them for whatever they do, for no one will do it better.