Review Summary: Cut Corners.
Enter Shikari are a band in the middle of an identity crisis. Their last LP,
The Spark, was better received than many expected, and this put them in a conundrum. Should they continue to write the light-hearted, more introspective pop-rock from their 2017 outing, or return to their heavier roots? Or, should they try something completely new?
Nothing Is True & Everything is Possible tries all three of these, and suffers greatly for it. Opener THE GREAT UNKNOWN is genuinely excellent, with massive energy and powerful guitars, bolstered by synths that pierce through at the high-end. It really is a highlight of the band’s discography, but it leads immediately into Crossing The Rubicon, a song ripped straight from The 1975. It’s fair to say that
A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships has influenced Enter Shikari significantly, because each of the more pop-based songs on
Nothing Is True sound almost like direct homages to their compatriots. Album track the pressure’s on. is inoffensive to the point of absurdity, taking the soft, airy synths and reverb-laden drums straight from Somebody Else, but making them dull, empty and lifeless.
What is so frustrating about
Nothing Is True is that there is some genuine, proper quality littered throughout its 43 minute runtime. When the band take themselves seriously, and write songs like T.I.N.A. and Marionettes, you wonder why they ever try anything different. Both share the energy and pacing of the opener, with the former being more guitar-based and the latter letting the electronics take the fore. Marionettes (II. The Ascent) has an absolutely massive chorus, something that has been missing from recent Shikari releases, and a truly excellent vocal performance from frontman Rou Reynolds.
Unfortunately, the quality really does stop there. Enter Shikari have dipped their feet into writing orchestration this time around, and while it is noticeable that there is some passion and flair here and there, when you listen to Elegy For Extinction, you are left with one question: why is this on an Enter Shikari record? The strings are produced beautifully and there are some excellent melodies, but being sandwiched between T.I.N.A. and Marionettes, the track butchers any momentum that the album could have been gaining. The same goes for Waltzing off the face of the Earth (I. Crescendo). Placed immediately after lead single { The Dreamer’s Hotel }, it immediately kills the pace of the album, for a horn waltz eerily reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s The Trial.
Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible is frustrating. There is enough quality within its runtime to give hope for those who want Enter Shikari to write what they’ve proven to be good at, but the flirtation with pop and classical influences mars any true progress they could have made towards genuinely finding their sound. This album feels like Enter Shikari trying to write something that they
want to write, as opposed something that they, at this point in time,
can write. Ironically, Reynolds put it best in the opening track.
I've been waiting for the great leap forwards / So impatient, yeah, I wanna cut corners.
