Review: Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible - Enter Shikari

It's entirely unoriginal to say that 2020 is one hell of an unprecedented, unpredictable and unforgiving year so far, so much so that an album from an electronicore four-piece that features a piece of symphonic music seems like a place to ground oneself. This seems to be Shikari's goal, despite the raucousness of the record, with the aim being to "create the definitive Shikari album" according to Rou Reynolds, to create something solid and binding for which to look at and say 'that's who Enter Shikari are'. For a band known for their political outspokenness and emphasis on togetherness it seems almost as though the current times couldn't have fitted the theme of the album any better than they do, with the entire uncertainty of the present being written in the album's title.

'Nothing Is True...' somehow manages to be everything fans and onlookers have come to expect from a record from the St Albans group: synths, catchy hooks, screams dotted throughout, quirky lyrics and politicised messages. Yet somehow the first album produced by the frontman Rou has brought a level of uncertainty as to what an album from the band can be.

The starter for the album seems to be a typical opener for any album from their discography, a bold track asking for 'anyone out there', a rally-cry common of Reynolds. Yet, it is not often that it is a request for aid, more often a statement of intent, for once it feels as though Shikari are as unsure of what to do as anyone else, less leaders than normal and more just another part of the mob. This slight sense of loss carries on into 'Crossing The Rubicon', albeit with a sense of hope added into the mix, under a largely different sound to what is normal for the band, an extension of the poppier routes explored on The Spark. However, the first act isn't lacking Shikari fury, the lead single comes in the form of 'The Dreamer's Hotel' which while being a dance-fuelled banger rings true of the anger the band is known for, with a much catchier tune than on previous records.

A great sense of theatricality is created in the album, with songs such as 'Waltzing Off The Face Of The Earth I & II' showing this off, the apocalyptic cries of the titular "Nothing is true and everything is possible" being surrounded by the minimalist but captivating choral touches that hint at the symphonic track still to come. Unfortunately, the grandness is somewhat cut into by the admittedly dull and filler-feeling two-parter of 'modern living' and 'apocaholics' which is the closest the band have gotten to a full on synth track in recent years, but is painfully drawn out and boring.

As if knowing that the listener will be ready for a bit of easy listening after the harsh dullness of the previous two tracks, 'the pressure's on.' shows the more sensitive side of the band, admittedly a musically uninteresting cut, it has a 1975ish feel that is annoyingly endearing. Shikari enter the latter half of the album trying to remind the listener that it's the same old band by throwing in 'reprise 3', a callback to the debut' and then 'T.I.N.A.' which would not be out of place on the third album 'A Flash Flood Of Colour'. This is all thrown out the window with 'Elegy for Extinction', a quite simply beautiful symphonic piece which brings back the theatricality to the album in tasteful style, followed contrastingly by the far superior two-parter of 'Marionettes' I and 2. The two songs strike that dark but hopeful tone they've been aiming for all the way through so far, in just 5 minutes, with the line 'truth hurts' encapsulating this.

The album's two catchiest and most listenable songs come in the one-two punch of 'Satellites', a touching song once you learn that it's about the LGBT communoty, and 'The King', a riotous song that isn't incredibly insightful but is a bloody good dance.

Enter Shikari's sixth effort at encapsulating what they think the human race is feeling is somewhat accidentally on the nail as a result of recent events, and provides some much-needed catharsis in the form of a good dance, a good scream and a slight tear in some places. In some places it can feel like the summation of some bloody good songs, some not so good, and some odd bits of theatricality, but at the moment, it's exactly what we need Shikari to do, and proves an interesting step for the band.

8.5/10

Favourite songs: Satellites, Elegy For Extinction, Waltzing off the Face of the Earth (I. Crescendo), The King

Least Favourite songs: Apocaholics anonymous, Marionettes (II. The Ascent)

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