Enter Shikari
The Spark

I guess I am lucky not to have heard this band before, at least if I am to believe some reviews that claims that the band are a shadow of themselves or have lost direction etc. To me that is absolute rubbish as this is a great album, the first song just grabs me with the catchiness and the simplicity – the pop elements that some criticise is definitely the best part of this album, the fifth album of this band. An album with a blue cover and eleven tracks where the title track is a short intro to an excellent track, my first impression when listening to this album was how great and catchy that first song is. Another impression I had when listening to this album was that it was a bit political in terms of lyrical content, which is always a great thing as punkish bands often share many of my political standpoints.

Post hardcore is how this band often seems to be describe, I think that pop-punk or something like that well describes what we hears on this album. In many regards they are a bit similar to Fotocrime that I reviewed yesterday, especially their more poppish songs, but they are also much brighter in style. The production is quite strong, as is the vocalist and the album itself can be described as relatively varied and dynamic. Energetic is a word that can be used to describe what we get to hear from these guys; catchy is another word that fits well. It is an easily accessible album that has enough depth to remain interesting for repeated listening. And it is short and to the point with the eleven tracks having a playing time of about forty minutes, forty good minutes I should add.

The opening title track that is the intro to the first song The Sights is probably the weakest point of this album, I think they could have done without that particular track – and it is a strange title track. Other than that I don’t think this album has any weaknesses, but it has many strengths. The biggest strength is probably that first song The Sights; it is a track that sparks. I can mention tracks like Live Outside, Take My Country Back, I could probably write the names of every track on this album but I am not going to do that. It is simply a great album that I can recommend to anyone who enjoys strong and catchy music, though judging from some reviews it may not be liked by everyone who believes that bands should not evolve and have liked the band’s earlier works. Thumbs up for this album, it is great.

I think you should check it out; it will most likely be worth it and songs that spark like The Sights certainly makes it worthwhile to play over and over again. One of the worthwhile musical investments of this year if you ask me, and as you read what I write I guess you do – so check it out!

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