Enter Shikari: “A Flash Flood of Colour” Review
Released nearly three years after their sophomore effort, Common Dreads, Enter Shikari may have made their strongest album yet. A Flash Flood of Colour is an explosion of ear-candy: roaring guitar riffs layered with thumping dubstep basslines; anthemic singalong choruses with hardcore screamo breakdowns; topped with thought-provoking, heartfelt, politically-charged lyrics. Some of those themes might instantly worry some readers, but I urge you to continue reading and give the album a chance. Virtually every song switches back and forth between numerous genres, so at the very least, parts of each song should appeal to different listeners.
The album is so varied in style, it has reminded me of artists as diverse as: The Streets, Slipknot, Skrillex, 30 Seconds To Mars, Biffy Clyro, The Prodigy, Frankmusik, Rage Against The Machine and AFI. But fear not, the album doesn't sound like an album by any of those artists — it sounds like an Enter Shikari album. The multitude of genres stitched together has become the band's trademark sound. Switching so frequently and distinctly may seem a recipe for disaster, but the St Alban's four-piece manage to pull it off. A song can start with a gentle, synth-led intro with spoken word lyrics, switch into something that could easily be found on a dubstep or drum & bass complication, then just as quickly switch to something that metalheads would happily mosh to. It sounds crazy, yet it somehow just... works.
The album starts with a two-part opener, System... and ...Meltdown. The first part is an ambient, spoken-word introduction that builds in pace and enthusiasm, conveying the album's core message — the problems with Earth's governments and society's lackadaisical attitude to the environment. We are then led into the more aggressive second part. More guitars. More bass. More everything. Mid way though, lead vocalist Roughton “Rou” Reynolds, bursts into an political tirade, “fuck all borders, fuck all boundaries, fuck all flags, and fuck nationalities”. It's a brutally honest message, the problems it references are ones the band wishes to pursuade listeners to stand up to.
The first single from the album, Sssnakepit, begins with a fast-paced drum beat intertwined with dubstep “wub-wub's” and electronic effects, only to morph after thirty seconds into an rapacious guitar-led segment. This is followed by the calmer chorus, with Reynolds inviting “Come and join the party, leave anxieties behind, when the weight of all the world is pushing down”, nicely accompanied with backing vocals (“down on your shoulders“) from guitarist Liam “Rory” Clewlow. The last thirty seconds revert back to the same electronic sound as the intro.
The synth backing track in Search Party reminds me of the band's debut album, Take To Skies. The song will be a definite singalong favourite at live shows. I can already image the crowd chanting “I know, that we've gotta find something new, whoa oh oh oh“. Things get a bit noisier just after the two minute mark, with some great guitar and drum work from Clewlow and drummer Rob Rolfe. This doesn't last long, and we are back to Reynolds admitting, “I know that we're gonna repeat history, unless we sort this out“.
Next, we have one of the album's crazier songs with Arguing With Thermometers, that cuts back and forth between an almost Arctic Monkeys-esque, danceworthy chorus, drum & bass beats and electronics, and even heavy metal style growls with the lyrics “you know there's oil in the ICE, you know there's oil in my EYES, you know there's blood on my HANDS”.
Stalemate opens with Reynolds singing “previous wars make billionaires out of millionaires, today's wars make trillionaires out of billionaires, tomorrow's wars will fuel generations of hate”. One of the album's softer songs, it showcase's Reynold's singing ability &mdash rather than his usual spoken word verse or screaming. The song ends with Reynolds repeating “I'll live this fantasy”.
Back to a heavier song again, Gandhi Mate, Gandhi starts with a political rant by Reynolds that explodes into a downright dirty electronic segment before getting even angrier, with heavy guitar riffs, screams, and electronic effects all layered on top of each other. One and a half minutes in, the lads have a bit of a joke around when Reynolds gets so wound up, the songs stops and he is told, “calm down, calm down, remember Gandhi mate”. There's so much going on in this song yet it still manages to sound great.
The beginning of Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here reminds me of a Frankmusik song — Reynold's vocals in particular. The song has a great singalong chorus and the last two minutes have an almost Biffy Clyro-esque guitar outro, with Reynolds screaming the album's title.
Pack Of Thieves is my favourite song on the album. The synth intro has a distinct 90's feel about and some great vocals, and the fast-paced punk-like pre-chorus would fit well on an recent AFI album with the background chants of “stand up!”.
Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide is a darker, heavier track that at times sounds like it would be more suited to the band's debut album. The lyrics, especially “empires always fall” are very reminscient of Rage Against The Machine, both bands share the passion of their political lyrics. A minute and a half in, we are treated with thirty seconds or so of Slipknot-style metal riffs and growled vocals. Some more of the familiar guitar and dubstep mashup sound we have heard throughout the album, finishes the song.
The album closer, Constellations, is a truly amazing song. The only way I can describe it is a mix between The Streets and 30 Seconds To Mars. Don't let that put you off though. The gentle, piano-led intro leads into a softly spoken word verses by Reynolds. A minute and a half in, and Reynolds sounds exactly like Mike Skinner. Reynolds admits, “I am lost, so lost, beyond the constellations, that guide me”. Lyrically, Reynolds speaks of two trains, one bound for “Disaster” and one for “Sustainability”, and how he realises that distaster is the wrong destination for the planet we as humans have to walk the tracks to sustainability oursevles or nothing is ever going to change. The song builds up three minutes in, and afterwards propels into an anthemic explosion of intruments. Constellations is one of the most though-provoking songs I've heard for a while, and one that could win over listeners who haven't heard Enter Shikari before. A great finish to a great album.
The bonus tracks, previous standalone singles Quelle Surprise and Destabilise, make it ever better.
