Over the better part of the last decade, Enter Shikari haven't only been one of the biggest UK bands, but one of the best and for many reasons. Across their three albums, they've been diversely fusing hardcore/metal and electronica, using this hybrid to cover a wide array of flavours and moods be it poppy and optimistic or aggressive and furious. They've always had strong hooks no matter what style they were covering, they're insane live and, perhaps most importantly, they've had a genuine and focused socio-political message. All those elements are present on newest album 'The Mindsweep' but are they just as interesting the fourth time around?

'The Appeal & The Mindsweep' is a spoken word introduction which is to be expected for the first song on an Enter Shikari record at this point. It features their most calculated and chilling electronics yet indicating where their main focus will be on this album. When the heaviness comes in, it does the job but it's not as exhilarating as it's been in the past. Vocalist Rou Reynolds is screaming, 'I am a mindsweeper, focus on me' and there are down tuned guitars but they're not played with a whole lot of strength, lessening the impact. There's a sense that they feel the need to put some gruff in as opposed to actually wanting to.
'The One True Colour' is an improvement with a shaky synth-line and organic combination of gentleness and anger, plus a soothing bridge with strings and harmonised backing vocals that correspond with the stomp of the song. 'The Last Garrison' also gives the album a boost, being an absolute beast of a track with high pitched synth/guitar stabs juxtaposed with the 80s bouncy tone that quickly follows. You can picture bloody mosh pits one second and then feel like going to the beach the next. It's hands down the strongest track on the album, making it clear why this was the lead single. The lyrics ('still air in my lungs, still blood in my veins') summon feelings of determination and fortitude and paint imagery of not giving in.
Continue reading: Enter Shikari - The Mindsweep Album Review