Review Summary: Much more mature than any of their other releases, Enter Shikari hit a new high.
I was very apprehensive of The Mindsweep. The singles released in 2013 were lacklustre at best, and I was slowly losing interest with Enter Shikari's most recent LP, A Flash Flood of Colour. Having grown up with the band I had a stark realisation. Was I growing out of this band?
I expected The Mindsweep to be boring, to be a collection of songs rather than an album. What I was greeted with, however, was something completely different. Choosing not to open with the same sweeping strings that opened Common Dreads and A Flash Flood of Colour was a very good choice by the Hertfordshire outfit, as it was almost throwing away much of the stigma that revolved around them. Enter Shikari are a very easy band to dislike, with their strong anti-capitalist agenda and fanatical fanbase.
Almost instantly you realise that this is a much more mature record. There aren't as many silly nuances in songs, far few spoken word rants. It feels as if frontman Rou Reynolds looked at his former self and thought 'I dont want to be pretentious anymore'. The lyrical content is still pretty hit and miss; there are far too many mentions of Greek philosophers, but overall the album is better paced, better flowing, and better feeling than their last LP.
Stand out track is Myopia, situated around the middle of the album. Starting with a quiet synth line and some wonderful ambient sounds, the song quickly explodes into a frantic riff and angry vocals, moving seamlessly into a pounding chorus and ruthless breakdown at the end. It's Enter Shikari at their absolute best, and while lyrics about melting ice caps may put you off, you can't ignore the huge increase in musicality.
The Mindsweep shows a new standard for Enter Shikari. A more adult offering with some truly great tracks, and very few forgettable moments. One of the albums of 2015 in my opinion.
