Ale De Capitani dissects the latest weird and wonderful album from the unstoppable Enter Shikari.
Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible is the sixth studio album by Enter Shikari, the first one produced by the vocalist Rou Reynolds himself. It is the latest product of what I like to define as the “Shikari bender”: this band has perpetually been on tour since 2015 and it legitimately took a pandemic for them to stop. My quarantine mental stability (or lack thereof) and special bond with this band made me look forward to this release pretty intensively. So here we go: Nothing Is True & Everything is Possible, which I am going to review chronologically because 1) I am pedantic and 2) there is no better way to give justice to the structure of albums than reviewing them like this.
Bite me.
Anyone familiar with Shikari will be aware that if there is one thing this band can do exceptionally well is opening tracks, and 'THE GREAT UNKNOWN' does not disappoint. Already released as a single, it smacks the listener in the face with Reynolds’ wide vocal range. Guitar parts delicately chase the vocals in the verses and energetically underline the chorus, perfectly merged with the synth bouncing through the song. The title constitutes one of the many easter eggs of this album, reminding of the song The Sights, from their previous album - “now I’ll boldly go / into the great unknown”. Excellent start.
'Crossing the Rubicon' could easily deserve an essay all to itself. The reference, both in the title and in the lyrics, is to Julius Caesar, who's crossing of the Italian river caused a civil war in Rome. This also explains the mention to casting die, following Plutarch’s report of the historical event. Not the only noteworthy reference: the mention to “labyrinth” is underpinned by a theme mirroring that of their ominous song in their first album. The longer Shikari go, the more little references to their previous works they make, forever indebted and mindful of their development through the years. Definitely a saucy song for those who spend way too much time on Genius lyrics.
This is followed immediately by the first single released from the album, '{ The Dreamer’s Hotel }'. In retrospect, I now agree with this choice. The song is radio friendly, energetic, but definitely represents the rest of the album well. When this is gonna be played live, some ribcages will be crushed because of – pardon my french – THAT FUCKING DROP.
The song which follows is, well, where to start? Definitely one Reynolds & Co must have had a lot of fun writing and producing, and by large one of my favourites (I mean, every person who has ever spoken to me for more than ten minutes will know I am a sucker for sax). 'Waltzing Off The Face Of The Earth (I. Crescendo)' is probably the most unlikely Enter Shikari song ever, but fits somewhat perfectly in the context of this record. The orchestra work is just evidence of what good funding can do to a band, especially a band like Shikari who just have way too much fun experimenting. Notice the little interesting mention of philosophical skepticism in the opening lyrics, which bring context to the title of the album.
'modern living…' is bouncy yet chaotic, one of the great examples of songs where Shikari break conventional song structures, a major theme of their music recurring throughout albums. Supposedly written as a reminder to not take ourselves too seriously, it contains some of my favourite lyrics of this album: “We're Apocaholics / Drinking gin and tonics / Lying in the flowers / Counting down the hours”. Finally, Reynolds has managed to sneak his drink of choice into the lyrics of one of his songs (I demand G&T merch now).
'modern living…' is followed immediately by a short instrumental piece, 'apøcaholics anonymøus (main theme in B minor)', which ring lyrics from the previous song, in a characteristic Shikari move. 'the pressure’s on' feels slightly like a filler track, but works in the whole context of the album. Something about it inevitably reminds me of their sophomore album, Common Dreads – the drums and synths make it a qualified dancy tune I am curious to see performed live.
'Reprise 3' is yet another easter egg, where the beginning synth theme reminds me strongly of the intro to Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour, from their debut record. The distorted lyrics, repeating “and still we will be here”, is also from the song 'Enter Shikari', at this point a well-established fan favourite belonging to the same album. These nostalgic undertones turn into a banging open for what is probably their most political song of the record, 'T.I.N.A.' The title stands for "There Is No Alternative" and has been explained to be a reference to the trope that capitalism is the only alternative, embraced in the good ol' days by the likes of Thatcher and Co. This is definitely a song which is gonna cause havoc live, a banging tune which remarks the political views of the band. As for 'Elergy for Extinction', well, I think the best way to describe this instrumental intermission is that it will make you feel like you’re in a good pixar movie - not just any pixar movie, a good one. Also I am ready to bet £100 that it’s gonna mark the comeback of Reynolds’ trumpet on stage.
'Marionettes (I. The Discovery Of Strings)', with its controlled but chaotic tempo changes, is another good example of how this band like to twist their song-writing, and its continuation 'Marionettes (II. The Ascent)' constitutes one of the most solid, original and special songs of this record, perhaps even of their whole discography. Meant to be the story of two marionettes setting themselves free, it's an epic, full-bodied instrumental journey displaying the, already mentioned, insane range of vocals of Reynolds.
Before you know it, the last three songs roll over in quick sequence. 'satellites* *', the latest single released, is dedicated to the LGBT community, as can be rather easily guessed from the lyrics. Cute and catchy, but maybe a bit out of place between Marionettes and 'the king' – a heavy, yet silly song representing a person raptured in their own ego, anger and wish for revenge, and their pathetic clumsiness. The synths here definitely help underpin this, especially on the verses. 'the king', however, is not one of my favourites – although I was already familiar with it, since it came out as a single several weeks ago.
The record concludes with 'Waltzing off the Face of the Earth (II. Piangevole)', instrumental, distorting some of the themes from the rest of the albums as if heard from a radio rapidly changing station – strong reminder of similarly structured tracks in past albums. I am not entirely satisfied with this ending, for Shikari have always finished their records with longing, important songs. An instrumental ending like this almost feels like a cheat, in this sense.
Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible is by all means weird. Playful, much less political than I expected, completely drenched in influences from early records to please the nostalgics of early Shikari, yet synth heavy and continuing the evolution they embarked with The Spark. This album is mostly well-crafted, organic, with musical themes bouncing back and forth – with the exception of the last three songs, which I think fall out of line in this sense, slightly ruining the effect created to that point. Nevertheless, gold medal here guys. This is gonna be the soundtrack to my lockdown.
Now all I’m looking forward to is getting to see it performed live...
8.3/10
Ale De Capitani
Comments