Four albums deep, Hertfordshire’s Enter Shikari are the iPad generation’s answer to genre-bending. They weave between several in the space of a few bars; hardcore, metal, punk, electronica, dubstep, hip hop, drum and bass. Seemingly a scattergun approach, The Mindsweep crystallises their style hopping with purpose.
As a self-described rock band, Enter Shikari only pick up guitars when they wanna. Throughout, electronics layer over varied worlds of sound. Jungle-inspired The Anaesthetist is sparse on guitars, likewise is drama-fuelled anthem Never Let Go of The Microscope. Beat-pulsed single The Last Garrison might unite moshers and ravers in the one pit, though the band aim at rousing rabbles, there’s a tender heart beating inside The Mindsweep. Rou Reynolds lends vulnerability, the fire behind his screams feeling all the more potent. Cribbing Beastie Boys’ Sabotage, Torn Apart fuses throwback hardcore with streetwise rhymes and lush vocals. Dear Future Historians pensive piano and confident climax of colour and light is both a technical and artistic achievement.
Mastery of one genre usually comes at a price: weakness in all others. It’s a price Enter Shikari have skilfully avoided paying. Innovative and ambitious, The Mindsweep is a mature, consistent effort. It’s far greater than the sum of its genre-mashed parts.
BY TOM VALCANIS
