Enter Shikari: A Flash Flood of Colour Review

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What do you get when you mix post-hardcore, alternative rock, drum and bass, spoken word, dirty vocals with a sprinkle of dub step? Most would answer "a friggin mess!", but those people must not have been listening to Enter Sjikari's A Flash Flood of Colour. AFFoC is such a diverse album that styles and genres don't just change from track to track, but from within each song.


Normally mixing these styles yields a gigantic mess of sound that isn't coherent or pleasant to listen to. AFFoC is jus the exact opposite. From the second track "Meltdown", I was hooked. The electronic beats mixed with hardcore/alternative rock is done so well that it blends together and you forget they are different genres all together. The breakdowns aren't has "hard" as with most hardcore/meat/whatevercore bands, but they are still present and done well. Roughton "Rou" Reynolds's vocals are all over the place. He goes from spoken word, to light singing to raspy screams to a straight dark growl. What's awesome, is it always makes sense. You get a feel for the song and the emotion behind it based on the tone. One of my favorite parts is when he takes it a little too far and his band mates have to remind him to calm down and think about Gandhi. Funny stuff.

Just about all the songs take a very political stance with themes ranging from sustainability to war. Enter Shikari is definitely not your typical whiny band that has girlfriend problems or high school drama. These guys are out to change the world, Well, at least in their album they are. For the most part I like the writing, but do wish the guys would switch it up a bit. Each song tells me that the system is broken and humanity is doomed if we stay the current course of consuming and war profiting. A noble effort indeed, but it looses it's impact when all the tracks are about the same thing.

Don't think about it, just play the album. That is the best advice I can give you. The mix of genres can be hard to keep track of and that's exactly why you shouldn't. Just sit back and enjoy. This album is really really good! Despite the constant political theme through out, AFFoC is one of the most creative albums I have heard in a while. Enter Shikari really hit a home run with this one! 


Track Listing 

1."System..."  1:57
2."...Meltdown"  3:24
3."Sssnakepit"  3:26
4."Search Party"  4:06
5."Arguing with Thermometers"  3:22
6."Stalemate"  4:18
8."Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here"  4:36
9."Pack of Thieves"  3:58
10."Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide"  3:44
11."Constellations"  4:59
Total length:
42:29

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