Enter Shikari - A Flash Flood of Colour Album Review

St. Albans heroes, Enter Shikari are as much on their game as they were back in 2006, when adolescents everywhere wanted to grab one of those finger lights and scream along with Rou Reynolds. They were extremely refreshing at the time, stamping down the boundaries in their fusion of post-hardcore and electro. Their 2007 debut, 'Take To The Skies' provided us with some classics like, 'Sorry You're Not A Winner' and 'Johnny Sniper.' The lads were also making a name for themselves, perhaps down to their live shows alone. Smashed jaws, bloody noses and busted limbs were all part of the crowd experience because everyone wanted to be part of the Shikari. Though, they appeared to have peaked too soon, when their follow up, 'Common Dreads' was released in 2009. There didn't seem to be any staple anthems on there like their first, but thankfully this new record, 'A Flash Flood of Colour' propels them back up to their podium, where they rightfully belong.

In usual fashion, it's gritty and heavy with a 'bring it' attitude. It's very politically driven, something that they dabbled in the last time. 'They invested in the system that was beyond repair' is a crucial statement that makes the rest of the album fall into place. Destruction is apparent from the first 30 seconds of the record, in words alone. 'Now the house in the cliffs is the wreckage in the rocks' is sang once, shouted once for emphasis in 'System.' There's a second part to this 'System' track is named, '.Meltdown.' It couldn't be called anything else really. Another political slur comes to life in, 'Gandhi Mate, Gandhi.' This is THE track, summing up the band in one song. It's incredibly sharp and within all the chat about the heavy topics of flawed systems and communism, there's some hidden wit too. 'Yabba dabda do one son' could easily be the next bonafide insult. As for the sound, it's loud and proud. The clumsy swishes of rattled distortion are uncontainable.

'Ssssnakepit' is gnarly. A heavy rush of synths and yells about coming to join the party. You can almost feel the uncontrollable adrenaline of the sweaty circle pits from the first listen. A few of the tracks are misconceiving in a good way. Beginning with Rou's angelic vocals, 'Pack of Thieves' and 'Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here' descend in to a ravenous epiphany of racket (a good proper racket though.) Others just plunge right into the deep end of din and disorder like the relentless, 'Arguing With Thermometers.' Prehistoric creatures are even involved, should've known it really in, some of this 'racket' does sound Neanderthal. Just look at the title, 'Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide.' Quite a metaphor they've formulated there.

The mighty Enter Shikari are back. These boys don't so half-measures; it's about stamina, sweat and sounding huge. This will vastly overshadow the minor blip they had with their last album. This 'Ok, Time For Plan B' idea worked so, Juggernauts and Co will be a distant myth, the classics will be remembered and so will these brilliant new additions. Political viewpoints out and there's no holding them back now. Remember this band's mantra, 'Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour,' boy is that true. This was unexpected.

4.5/5

Hayley Fox