The opening half minute of fanfare in ‘
Jonny Sniper’ somewhat builds my expectations of
Enter Shikari after having only heard clips and words of praise in passing. I asked for this review given that my musical taste is steeped in punk rock—not only ‘aesthetic’ punk bands of fairly recent years such as Blink , Sum and so on, but also those bands with a little more substance such as Operation Ivy and Rancid. Given that Enter Shikari is attributed with crossing over many genres and fusing adverse styles, I was hoping to hear something along the lines of a melting-pot effect of the bands mentioned. I was listening eagerly for “the passion of hardcore and punk with the passion of euphoria and trance amongst many other influences”.
Sadly, it seems that expecting “a band that hoped [it] would reignite unity into the music scene and ultimately into people lives” was a futile effort. I have once again found myself disillusioned, let down and most importantly, bored.
Shortly after something that sounds like the victorious close of a Final Fantasy battle, the ‘trance’ the band offer up feels more like the easy, cheesy rock opening to Mr. Big’s old 1991 hit
Green-Tinted Sixties Mind. Uncomfortably coupled with this obscure approach to ‘Post-Hardcore’, Enter Shikari choose to show their very limited vocal abilities. Billed on
their website as two of the lads playing Vox, and one taking care of backing Vox for good measure, they seem to have forgotten to mention who actually performs these primal vocals that imprint the track with so much more angst and adolescence than what was needed, although Wikipedia cleverly interrupts to point fingers menacingly at ‘Rou’ and Chris.
The opening lyrics attempt to inspire some sense of urgency and importance, “
Rise! Taste the air! Lock and load! Pull the trigger! Climb to new heights!” however, despite their enthusiastic writing, there is something very stale and effortless about them. This, I soon found, was a recurring feature in the single—I would be quick to label them just another ‘post-hardcore’ band with the only exception being their love for Vox.
The rest of Jonny Sniper drags on for me … I literally count the seconds ticking away. Bits to look out for include droning, repetitive vocals and the annoying inclusion of “
Way to save the world!” as though trying to add some sense of importance to such a dire disappointment of a track.
Redeeming features, I almost growl through my teeth, are few. The band enjoy a large, dedicated fan base (who are featured in their videos), have refused numerous large contracts in order to stay with their own independent record label
Ambush Reality, and managed to be only the second unsigned band ever to sell out the London Astoria—though the fact the first band was
The Darkness somewhat diminishes that achievement.
Jonny Sniper and album,
Take To The Skies are out now.
www.entershikari.com www.myspace.com/entershikari
