Enter Shikari - Nothing is True and Everything is Possible review

Enter Shikari is a pretty legendary band in the scene at this point. Their early releases resonated with some many people upon release and are still holding out as iconic today. Fourteen years removed from Take to the Skies and it's single "Sorry, you're not a winner" is still going strong sitting at 18 million plus streams in a day and age where the format these albums came from are no longer the default. Now, while that is impressive for me personally the band never really stood out and I had a very hard time seeing the hype behind it. Vocalist Rou Reynolds however made an interesting promise with this release saying it would be a good place for non-fans to start.

Now, yes, we did cover this one in my top albums list of 2020 but I had so much more to say about this record than what could fit there because it did do exactly what Rou implied, it won me over. I would 100% call myself a Shikari fan and even look forward to whatever they do next. So, nearly a year removed from release date, let's look back at what made the record special.

Nothing is True starts on a strong note already with it’s opening track “The Great Unknown.” An intense, almost horror-esque piano riff opens the record and rings through the entire song accompanied by a bass line and electronic effects so subtle you’d need headphones to make them out yet they also hold the entire piece of work together. A powerful drum fill leads us into a booming vocal performance on the chorus, the vocals in this track even echo for emphasis on this point.

The vocal contrast, however, is better demonstrated on the following track “Crossing the Rubicon” with it’s entrancing,  semi-auto-tuned vocal intro, verses that are almost acoustic in nature that get bigger in band presence as they go on and a pre chorus whose lyrics “Christ what a mess, I think Beckett said it best, try again, fail again, fail better” are hard not to be inspired by. The outro to this track showcases Rou Reynolds’ range as well with him in a way scatting over this synthesizer piece.

The album from there goes into its lead single “{ The Dreamer’s Hotel }” which may be the best performance from the band in general not just on this project but on their entire discography. This thing grabs you immediately with the band giving in a way their own hype horn and an impressive drum fill ending with Rou yelling a commanding “alright!” as the first verse begins. The lyricism in general here is something to commend as Reynolds’ takes us into the world of what the dreamer’s hotel actually is. The chorus itself is as catchy as any emo anthem from ten-plus years ago. The second verse with its electronic and bass work are pure ear candy and the bridge of the song is, well, to be honest, I’m having trouble finding the words you'd have to hear for yourself. The song closes on a powerful message with the lyric:

“If love is blind, hatred is deaf and well fed.”

The next track “Waltzing Off the Face of the Earth” has an eerie, circus-like structure, complete with horns and everything,  that Rou leads in a vocal performance almost presenting himself as the head of a cult he is attempting to entrance you into. Various lyrics entice you to take on the world with him such as “our future’s been denied and there’s nowhere to hide.” The depth of the performance here again you’d really need headphones to dive into. At around the two-minute mark the band really consumes you again keeping the circus like sound but in a more dramatic, rock opera way. Finally the song begins deconstructing in a way that almost reflects the messaging of the deconstruction of our world itself.

On “modern living…” Rou keeps up his preacher character this time in a bit more of a jovial way trying to convince you that the end is nigh but also that there is no time to not embrace our own imperfection with lines like “on every face a filter, masking weakness, masking woe.” The entire song instrumentally is arranged in kind of a hip hop way with Rou even rapping on some sections of verse and the percussion and production responding to his call with certain lines. The song serves as a two-parter with the next track “apocaholics anonymous” serving more as a remix of its counterpart and focusing on an electronic instrumental almost like a club banger with the “I’d like to welcome all my people here” like repeating throughout.

“The pressure’s on” gives us a break from the chaotic nature of the entire experience with a lofi ballad with more impressive percussion work. On this one Rou is attempting to level with you with lines like “I appreciate your belief but I’m not sure you’re right.” The song picks up a bit too close to the rest of the record in its last leg but still manages to hold its own personality.

The next bit “Reprise 3” I won’t say too much on as it’s not really for me, it’s for long time fans and brings up old quotes and an old naming pattern but it does set the tone for the next track pretty well. “T.I.N.A.” sets us off into side-b in a similar way that “The Great Unknown” threw us into the record itself with a huge intro pulling you right back into the chaos of it all. The keyboard and guitar blend together in the main riff of the song in such a way that it’s hard to really pull them apart and the second verse manages to be lofi yet chaotic all at the same time.

Things take a rather unusual turn here in “Elegy for Extinction” an orchestral instrumental that is so much more than an interlude and takes a life of its own. The opening string section mirrors the chaos of the record’s themes in a somehow elegant way. The horn section makes you feel like you’ve left the punk rock venue you’ve been at for nine tracks and seats you in a grand theater. The track falls into that familiar chaos once again but this time only to ease you into what may be to come.

The following track however betrays that expectation with a horn and either big bass or organ piece that Rou sings over. The electronic chaotic lofi feel is back here and the chorus itself is a full on EDM section. “Marionettes II” serves its prequel in a way that “apocaholics” served “modern living” only this time gives more emphasis on the lyrics and vocal delivery with lines like “the world that you created is not mightier than our means to remake it” continuing Reynolds’ almost religious experience that he’s guiding us through. The vocal outro is nice and soft but reminds us of the harsh truth that:

“Truth hurts, now you know truth frees”

“Satellites” takes us back to the orchestra and has a filter over the vocals here. The pre-chorus is yet another section you would need to be able to hear every layer of to truly appreciate but has Reynolds’ in his ultimate preacher frame here, declaring “We refrain from touch, we are satellites.” The chorus is again vocally huge yet instrumentally minimalist with the performance for one sounding hopeful instead of inviting this air of despair.

“The king” opens with a guitar riff that sets the stage for the best guitar performance so far. The lyrics to this once straying away from the themes of the rest of the tracks and telling a story with the age-old moral of an eye-for-an-eye making the world go blind, though I think I’ll quote the song itself here “if its revenge you seek be sure to dig two graves, one for the enemy and fuckin’ one for you preferably.” The chorus is almost ska-like in nature with the horns serving the listener more than any standard rock band typical instrument could. The song as a whole does everything in just three minutes that the album does with its impressive lyricism, chaotic yet structurally brilliant instrumental performance and it even breaks into an electronic section.

The closer, a sequel to “Waltzing Off the Face of the Earth” has another orchestral intro, subtle vocals and a soft guitar piece that is occasionally riddled with distortion. The album sees you off with the main message of the first part of the suite by reminding you:

“Nothing is true and we’re waltzing off the face of the earth.”

All in all, “Nothing is True” works best as an entire experience. The sheer layers of work put into this are very easy to get lost in but makes hearing certain tracks by themselves a bit awkward and off put. In the way Reynolds’ is trying to sell you on his worldview throughout the entire project the band also sold me on their sound itself and on a personal note listening to this one in an analytical way actually shifted the positioning of the entire top 10 listing.