Review by Sheri Bicheno for MPM
Britain’s genre dynamic fun loving Enter Shikari, just dropped their eighth studio album out of absolutely nowhere.
Not a smidgen or sniff of an announcement or teaser and then BAM.
What a way to kick off the oncoming summer!
As ever with Enter Shikari, there holds a strong message – with the way of the world at the moment, Shikari offers a mirror of the desolation in places but with the urge for hope… and so we dive into the message of surprise album LOSE YOURSELF.
Title track LOSE YOUR SELF starts out a beautiful synth intro that shimmers and shines blindingly before distorting and weaving in and out of an urgent spoken warning for our future selves.
Blending into an uplifting yet powerful electronic rock infused track, we’re taken into a heck of a first listen to the album.
Touching upon human assumption of safety in knowledge, the message is that really we have to be lost and disconnected to learn to be self aware of what’s coming.
Vocalist Rou Reynolds fuses with Chris Batten to relay the warning tones with small moments of melodic vocals in places that enhance the beauty of the synths of Rob Rolfe and Rory Clewlow’s blend of fast paced keys and beats to form a powerful pace of uplift.
Seamlessly blending into next track Find Out The Hard Way… theres such an infectious contrast with rhythm lifting you up, yet still serves as a warning to us all to embrace unity before it’s too late.
This track is one of my favourites on the album. It bares an important message and blends electronic fusions of synths rippling through the track along with different moods of euphoric keys and strings.
Rory comes in around halfway through the track with some bursting riffs to wind with a beautifully fitted rhythm section that carries the mood into a blend of headbanging and hard hitting notes.
Theres multiple layers of feeling in this track that encompasses unity, defiance and strength which draws you in.
Dead In The Water is encased in rap and synth genres that blend with some heavier post hardcore styles, which make this track a hugely fun vibe whilst lyrically giving a voice to mental health struggles.
This is a beautiful track that layers sections of guitar and drum melodics with technical dance keys, bringing a rainfall of different moods to explore that get to your core and make you feel the message whilst demons drifts us into a dreamlike soundscape.
This is another favourite from the album. Beautiful light rays of synths blend with a drum n bass style beat come to lift you into the ether and gently turn you around with the different pace of Rou’s vocals that are beautifully melodic blending with intense screams.
Lyrically, this track is so deep. Touching again upon mental health, we’re encouraged to embrace our demons and address them in order to heal and gain closure.
The Flick of A Switch I serves as the first of two versions.
This one gives me real Infected Mushroom and Prodigy vibes. Mixing intense diversity across different dance fusions with electronic dub step. I would absolutely love to see this live – this would give major rave vibes to a Shikari audience amongst the alternative injections of moods.
I Can’t Keep My Hands Clean follows up as an interlude of switching the genre up in the album before it’s OK settles you down with a contrast of really mellow feelings and a slower energy.
Like a lazy Sunday vibe to kick off the mood meets The Street‘s with the signature Enter Shikari mood injecting optimism into the album.
The Flick Of A Switch II serves as a counterpart that is adorned with an ethereal vibe melting into a highly intense offering of riffs meets bassy synths. Like some kind of futuristic instrumental to get us down and ready for anthemic Shipwrecked!
Keeping those beautiful synths and rhythm sections still in place before a chuggy interlude batters the sonic experience of this track, we’re are pulled into questioning the future – perhaps the future of the UK?
(“Will we ever get off this island?”)
Interpreting to be a political message would be forgiven, the message this track holds the outlook of the struggles of life and living in the world that has been built around us by those in power.
And that in itself, is a powerful subject to explore when you have a platform to do so.
Spaceship Earth (I. Avec Abandon), Spaceship Earth (II. Angoscioso) and Spaceship Earth (III. Maestoso) serves as an ascension of the album from the first volume of intensity with hardcore and hard hitting elements that speak to us of dealing with saving each selves in current peril.
The slaps of electronica simmers seamlessly into a melancholic soundscape craving salvation and asking to be saved from what’s incoming…
The shift in moods here almost move you to that lump in your throat by the time Angoscioso is upon us as some of the most cathartic synths take hold of you and churn into a magnificent ending of a brass band.
Maestoso ends the album with a majesticly epic sonic journey as Rou absolutely rips at the heartstrings with a beautiful range that implores the listener to carry on, hold on whilst change is afoot.
LOSE YOURSELF is an album that has such intense beauty to it amongst the chaos and gets deep into the realms of exploring mental health and the feeling of optimism to keep eachother safe and have one another’s backs.
Enter Shikari flow with the feelings on this album and if you’re ever stuck in a rut, be sure to give this album a proper listen and absorb it’s moods.
Its both beautiful and empowering in many ways and as surprises come, absolutely shakes to your centre!
This accomplished and ingenious body of work is available to stream and also buy in CD and vinyl format worldwide. Listen here.
