Album Review: Enter Shikari release ‘Nothing is True & Everything is Possible’
“We didn’t want to push the album because without music, it would be even more difficult. The second we let art die, it will only get worse. It’s our armor.” A little over a week ago, I sat down virtually with frontman of long loved Enter Shikari, Rou Reynolds, in a very uneasy time for the world. But Reynolds isn’t one to hide away in a corner when dealing with something like this. The band is one of few to not delay their albums due to Covid-19, and with their brand new album “Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible”, hitting virtual shelves in less than an hour, this album couldn’t come at a better time.
When I sat down with Reynolds via the interwebs, it was fresh off of listening to this new album. One that is a true masterpiece. It has a little bit of everything and was actually the first album Reynolds produced himself. If you’ve been lucky enough to see this act live you already know that Reynolds sets up his own synths/electronics so it seems a little crazy that it took several albums in for the band for him to fully take the reigns. But it only makes this album so much better and for past fans of the band, this album will take you to a whole other level.
Fans have already been privy to several of the singles from the record but this album will take you for a whirlwind ride. You have those softer punk songs but then you also have full blown waltzes, like ‘Waltzing Off the Face of the Earth (I. Crescendo)’,where the title track of the album comes from. With so many bands lately doing full album shows, this will easily be a beautiful thing if it happens, but it will be a huge undertaking. The new record is easily the biggest spectrum of music the band has ever taken on but it is exactly the album people need in this uncertain time. Be it ‘The Dreamer’s Hotel’ with lines like “Meanwhile, at the Dreamer’s Hotel, five stars but the rooms are all vacant” to the delightfully dancy ‘The Pressure’s On’ including a huge breakdown that brings bands like Bombay Bicycle Club to mind.
I’d like to say it’s like Enter Shikari predicted our current predicament but it’s something the band has always projected in their music. When talking about the story behind this album, the message, Reynolds commented, “The album is about the possibility. We’ve seen so many things in the last five years that don’t seem real that we couldn’t even expect like the rise of Nationalism, Brexit, Trump, Covid-19”. And the album touches on so much of that with stand out tracks like ‘T.I.N.A’ and ‘Modern living…’. There are songs on this album that previous Shikari fans will be hundred percent expecting but the shining moments on this release are the huge waltzes and ‘The Dreamer’s Hotel’, tracks like that.
Overall, ‘Nothing Is True & Everything is Possible”, is the roller coaster ride we need in current times, and post this? I fully expect an insane visual representation of this album hopefully here in the States and I know the band will always forever deliver. Pick it up here!