If Lostprophets had continued along the path they set for themselves with their Sony debut The Fake Sound Of Progress rather than devolve into a Bob Rock-produced radio rock sing-along monstrosity that they are now, then I think they would’ve beaten Enter Shikari to the punch on making a killer drum ‘n bass/metal/pop hybrid album like A Flash Flood Of Colour. Too bad for LP, Cheers to Enter Shikari.
On their third record, Enter Shikari up the ante even more by taking every genre they’ve mastered to the next logical place. The beats are even more infused into the rock making for a vicious combination. That statement is especially true when “System…” kicks in and even more so with its’ follow up “…Meltdown”. Meant as the introduction of what’s to come on A Flash Flood…, the songs are Shikari thrown in a blender and spewed out at the listener with as much energy as was put into the making of this album which is a lot.
You get to the middle and “Stalemate” comes on and you may find yourself checking if “Arguing With Thermometers” (That’s track five, so ya know.) wasn’t the last song on the album. If your head is still spinning from the first five tracks then “Stalemate” is meant to give you a breather. It’s a great acoustic power ballad that builds and builds to a beautiful climax flowing seamlessly into the Goldie meets The Streets metallic stomp of “Gandhi, Mate, Gandhi”. The hits continue with “Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here” which is just high caliber electronica meshed with rock (especially the breakdown) while “Pack Of Thieves” starts out almost trip hop and then turns into a massive dancefloor banger.
What I’m trying to say is that Enter Shikari’s A Flash Flood Of Colour has a little something for all of their fans and is the type of album that’s destined to have broader appeal. Let the accolades begin.
Thank Christ I had more than 140 characters to say all that.
Enter Shikari’s A Flash Flood of Colour is out now.
Grade: B+