Hips Don’t Lie
Ok my friends the reason for this title is my daughter (and she isn’t a toddler if you’re wondering), who insists on doing her best Shakira moves every time I mention Enter Shikari. Her hips may not lie, my lips won’t lie because Christ Almighty they’ve done it again. I didn’t think they could top ‘Are you staying awake for the lift off, tonight?’ more fool me. Here is a cracking kaleidoscope of lights and music, an exotic mix of fantasy and reality, and a tingle your taste buds blend of good and evil. Ever the forward- thinking band, Enter Shikari cover all areas, discover new sounds, and bring them forth for us to enjoy, leaving their peers weeping in the shadows. This is fresh and exciting, exploratory and piquing an interest into the unknown. We will go wherever these guys take us, unflinching and fearless in our expedition. I met them on the last tour, I waited for 3-4 hours outside the venue, I was frozen and when Chris emerged from the building I morphed into a jelly blob and addressed him as ‘ oh Mr. Shikari’ in a bonkers teenage crush kinda way, just embarrassing really. They, however, just bang on the money genuine, humble blokes, an amazing experience.
Anyway, back to current affairs, and really amongst all the atrocity right now we have a spectacular musical sensation with album number six called’ Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible’, a wide- angled, panoramic view of the galaxy and all it contains. The opening track ‘The Great Unknown’ gives a reference to Van Gogh, a man who allegedly cut his own ear off and gave it to a soul more tortured than himself, showing the depth of reasoning and sharp intuition required to put pieces together. Again in ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ we encounter Caesar and his do or die effort, and through this we must also summon the courage to make difficult decisions, especially when all our options have been exhausted.
In ‘WOTFOTE’ we have ‘ bigoted parents now decide what teachers teach’ and I thank you kindly for handing the haters and the fanatics their arse on a plate. Set to a fairground style carousel theme, it is dizzyingly intricate yet simple to get a grasp of. The quirky portmanteau of ‘Apocaholics Anonymous’ validates their ingenuity and wit as solid, first rate artists who thoroughly deserve their spot in the higher echelons of music industry.
This album is a detailed study of the mind, body and soul, examining outlooks that you would not normally consider. For example, the agonisingly poignant ‘Marionettes (parts 1&2)’ to draw parallels from a toy to a living being in this manner is quite a feat. The poke in the eye lyric of ‘our minds are firewood…escape this childhood’ it’s probably more than we can bear and most likely something we cannot share, but share we must as ‘truth hurts, truth frees’. The cosmic love song that is ‘Satellites’ sits pretty, colourful, sparkling and all-embracing in a whiz bang effort to feel brave and true to yourself.
A record full of beats and basslines to keep a stotting deer occupied for all eternity. It is an unrivalled slice of creativity and an immeasurable aspect of wonder and wisdom into what is the here and now and the what could be. This is a testament as to why this band are loved universally and unconditionally.
These St. Albans saints will preserve us. Hallelujah!
Azra Pathan
Enter Shikari – Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible out now via SO Recordings.