Album review: Enter Shikari - Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible

Never one to stick to the rules, St Albans outfit Enter Shikari have continued to go for the

(Credit: ThereIsNoAlternative)

jugular with their form of vibrant, cutting music.

If you haven't listened to Enter Shikari before, they tend not to skirt the issues. A band which has previously challenged climate change deniers, the government and girls who have wronged them, the boys don't exactly follow the rule book. Each of their albums are part of their journey and shows a progression - album number six Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible is no different.

Produced by lead vocalist Rou Reynolds, Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible is a journey filled with both speed bumps and no speed limits. Compared to previous effort The Spark, it feels more stripped back, yet also more unhinged.

Filled with fast dance numbers such as opener The Great Unknown and the Faithless-esque T.I.N.A, the band flex their sugar-fuelled muscles to remind everyone of their rights to the British dance rock throne. The quartet have their fingers in many pies though, especially on this record. Some of those pies consist of the sweet, bubblegum fillings of Crossing The Rubicon and The Pressure's On, while others are for the more sophisticated palate such as Elegy For Extinction (recorded with the City Of Prague Symphony Orchestra, no less), as well as others that have the feel of  a more classic flavour that fans have become accustomed to such as The King and The Dreamer's Hotel.

It also wouldn't be an Enter Shikari album without a musical interlude or two, and nothing changes here. Apocaholics Anonymous is for the dubheads, while Reprise 3 harks back to breakthrough album Take To The Skies in both track name and lyrical content.

Fans know that where Enter Shikari's real strengths lie though is in their live show, and boy are there some tunes curated for such an event. Take the gargantuan pop hooks of Marionettes (II. The Ascent) for example, or Modern Living.... and its lyrical nods to Oasis and Phil Collins, whether intentional or not.

With most acts, an album featuring such a mishmash of styles would go over most people's heads and be classed as a mess, but this is Enter Shikari to a tee. References to each of the past forms they have taken on are well complimented by sounds from them we have not heard before. This is a group who aren't short of ideas and are still looking for more.

Rating: 8/10
Recommended songs: Modern Living...., Marionettes (II. The Ascent)