SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: ENTER SHIKARI – A KISS FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

Enter Shikari
A Kiss For The Whole World
So Recordings

Enter Shikari has never been what you call ordinary when attempting to label the music they create within the post-hardcore scene. Establishing a unique and fresh electronicore soundscape with a wide array of other rock, alternative, and other ornate instrumental elements, Enter Shikari has become the kaleidoscopic enigma of the scene that is constantly evolving and unpredictably shaking up the genre since their 2007 debut album, Take To The Skies. Their unparalleled creative drive would further progress with 2021’s beautifully diverse Nothing is TRUE & everything is possible. Now the band continues their atmospheric and prototypical sound with their latest release, A Kiss For The Whole World.

Starting off with one of the most igneous openers on any album they have released up to this point, “A Kiss For The Whole World” brings in unequaled abrasive energy combined with opulent horns, showing off a bright and novel first experience that only a band like Enter Shikari is worthy of defining and pulling off, leading to other special moments within A Kiss For The Whole World.

This celestial and summer-drenched instrumental energy continues with “(pls) set me on fire”, a track with the ability to transcend into gorgeous synth-laden harmonies to effortlessly ping-ponging back and forth from heavy to more dulcet moments within this experience. Enter Shikari early on establishes why it is one of the best multi-genre electronicore bands in the scene, and it lies in their ability to utilize harmonies and massive overtones well.

The album rolls into a kinetic juncture, “It Hurts”. An experience that is one of the best uses of infectious lyrics and vocal tone inflections combined with great use of electronics, guitars, and high-impact percussive energies, this daydream of a track stands out from the many outstanding moments on A Kiss For The Whole World.

Other moments such as “Deadwood” are hauntingly beautiful and ornately distinct from the other tracks on A Kiss For The Whole World. With its lavish use of violin and cellos interweaved with starry-eyed EDM soundscapes and powerful arena-ready presence, Enter Shikari keeps expanding its experimental playbook while lovingly keeping in strides with its original sound that has made the band successful.

Electro/ pop-punk infused “Jailbreak” continues to keep things explosive and entertaining, showing nods to their roots while still exploring what that sound means to them as the band constantly enriches and redefines that sound with each release.

Major highlights, “Bloodshot” and “Bloodshot (Coda)” are undeniably captivating in their own ways. A vicious groove of ethereal electromagnetic waves underpinned with cunning self-aware lyricism and multidimensional vocals, it pirouettes into a breathtaking rendition of the same track, showing off Enter Shikari’s technical and cinematic brilliance.

“goldfish” brings things up to speed with its dominant instrumental vitality and continued use of exquisite lyric writing before closing out the album with final tracks “Giant Pacific Octopus (i don’t know you anymore)” and “giant pacific octopus swirling off into infinity”. With this magnificent wrap-up that is a lovely varicolored exhibition of all of their vocal and instrumental prowess, Enter Shikari brings the album to a confident close.

Enter Shikari is a band that can’t be boxed into one sound. A Kiss For The Whole World is lyrically beguiling and poignant while using a decadent sense of duality that is sublime and immensely vivacious. A listening experience where every track leaves you guessing, excited, and wanting more, Enter Shikari is constantly in a class all of its own, with its latest release defining what means to be a pioneer and trailblazer in the world of electronicore.

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