Review Summary: Outstanding album, can't wait for the next one!
The world is ending and we all have to work together to ensure our future is safe and livable. That's what Enter Shikari would like you to believe on their third album A Flash Flood of Colour.
Album openers System.......Meltdown set the tone, ideals and attitude of the album. It starts with an orchestral arrangement that immediately draws your interest whilst singer Rou tells a story about 'a house in a field on a side of a cliff' and how it became 'the wreckage on the rocks'. One can't help but think that this is a metaphor for the world Enter Shikari lives in.
After having listened to the opening tracks, and once Sssnakepit kicks in, it is obvious that ES have refined their usage of electronics and have been able to capture a sound on this record that is contrasting and consistent, where their previous work appeared to force electronics and heavy rock together when perhaps they should have been separated.
The first song with a more traditional structure is Search Party. It continues in the vein of the tracks precluding it, starting with electronic elements and then kicking in with the heavy guitars and drums. I can't help but feel that the verses of this song is the essence of ES. The pulsating double kick drums with rhythmic but heavy guitars take the front whilst the electronic elements provide an interesting background soundscape. I almost forgot, the lyrics to this song, and the delivery, are spine tingling and inspiring.
Arguing with Thermometers shows the bands upbeat and dance oriented side. Whilst the message is the same, the songs tingy guitar chorus and electronics provides an element not yet heard on the album thus far. This is one of the best tracks on the album.
I'm not sure if Enter Shikari like U2, but Stalemate, seems to be their Sunday Bloody Sunday. This is simultaneously one of the most beautiful and sad songs in existence. Where Sunday Bloody Sunday focused on social injustice and violence locally, Stalemate is more concerned with the bigger picture and how the impact of events throughout the world is affecting our every day-to-day lives; sometimes without us knowing it. This song is intended to educate us and make us more conscious of the wars we are fighting with guns and words.
Gandhi Mate, Gandhi calls for an immediate change to the way we live. Another interesting track on the album with the lyrics being equally compelling with the instrumentation.
The album settles down a little bit with Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here. This song sounds like ES are trying to sound like Bloc Party. They do it well, and it provides a different element for the album.
The electronic elements at the beginning of Pack of Thieves are brilliant and builds to a stomp and guitar ring out before the opening verse. The verse is powerful, the lyrics are inspiring and this song is one of the best on the album (my personal favourite). Where other tracks focus more on negativity, this track has equally positive elements and shows the way forward.
Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide is predictably a song about tyrants. Consistent with the rest of the album this song is another gem. The final track and album closer is Constellations. This song is a nice send off for the album. It starts eerily and builds up to a huge chorus to end the song. The lyrics and vocal delivery are fantastic.
Whilst I haven't focused too much on the heavy elements of this album, there is certainly no shortage of breakdowns, bass drops, heavy guitar riffing, and punk/hardcore sections. It's just that the electronic soundscapes and themes steal the show on this album.
