All things must come to an end. It’s one of the only certainties we have in life. But, endings don’t always have to be negative, bitter experiences. They can be joyous, celebratory, triumphant. ‘Valuables’, the final album from Enemies is just that. After almost a decade of writing, recording and touring together, the four-piece from Kilcoole found their relationships under an unbearable strain and made the call. Through this ending, though, came a new beginning. “By accepting the end, all pressure was gone”, the band defiantly declared. ‘Valuables’ is the result of their acceptance and is the most experimental, entertaining and downright enjoyable art of Enemies’ career.
Despite all their experimentation though, the band never lose their identity. Opener ‘Itsallwaves’ is immediately an Enemies’ classic; two intertwining, looped, reverb-soaked guitars welcome you with open arms. Previously released ‘Play Fire’ is one of the band’s more pop-oriented sounds, whilst the ending of ‘Leaves’ is one of the heaviest moments Enemies have produced. Moments of familiarity are spread throughout ‘Valuables’ – riffs, hooks or drum patterns feel at once like old friends and new lovers.
Enemies are (or perhaps that should be “were”) so much more than a post-rock/math-rock band and have consistently outgrown and expanded the genre they found themselves constrained by. Throughout ‘Valuables’, they do all they can to shake off, or at least distance themselves from, this pigeonholing. ‘Bonopi’ is an electronically influenced interlude, and ‘Don’t Go’ continues this with looped, auto-tuned vocal tracks that lace around each other like legs on a hungover Sunday morning. Enemies excel at this. They recreate those physical, real moments of your life. They write songs that remind you of the most intimate snapshots of your life; they capture those precious moments, those early mornings in bed where the sun peeks through your blinds as you nestle your nose into the nape of the neck of that person you like most.
Take ‘Glow’, for example. The heady, flowing instrumentals weave through your ears as delicately and gently as the first touch between lovers’ fingers, and Louise Gaffney’s exquisite, hushed vocals lull you into a trance. One of the highlights of the album, ‘Glow’ emphasises just how many strings Enemies have on their bow.
Whilst it hurts to lose a band as talented – as vital – as Enemies, it’s important to remember that in order for all of us to grow, sometimes we need to let things go. In a year that has been full of devastating loss and in which uncertainty and fear has ruled so strongly, Enemies give us hope. ‘Valuables’ is a work of art that could only have been produced as a result of their ending. Music is truly a refuge and, with their swansong, Enemies have provided one of the safest sanctuaries out there.