Travelling to distant lands, encountering different cultures, it’s going to make you think. Enter Shikari, which by the admission of guitarist Liam (Rory) Clewlow is touring internationally “80 per cent of the time“, has a lot to consider then.

They’ve always been the post-punk/screamo outfit of choice for the inquiring music listener but the lyrics and sentiments of new album A Flash Flood Of Colour, released this week, sees their thoughts, feelings and delivery cranked up a notch. Co-produced by the band and Dan Weller (Young Guns, Gallows) and mixed by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Metallica, Biffy Clyro), the album is a barometer of the modern age – of lingering recession, rampant commerce, activism and engagement.

“We’ve always tended to talk about things,“ says Rory. “We’ve never wanted to be a band that runs about stage screaming about things that don’t mean that much to us. We want to say things that are worth saying.“

So the opening track of the new album, System, talks about a house on a cliff, which is crumbling into the sea. It’s a coming of age anthem and a metaphor for disillusionment.

The St Albans four-piece have become better songwriters and musicians mashing up indie electronica with a refusing-to-be-labelled amalgam of rock, and drum and bass. Purists may hate it, but there are echoes of The Cure, Blur, The Ramones, The Clash and Orange Juice in the melting pot.

It’s not all protelysing and protest though; there’s a lot that’s danceable – Meltdown and latest release Arguing with Thermometers – and fun too with tracks like Gandhi Mate, Gandhi and the video for Arguing, which Rory describes as: “a tongue-in-cheek mix between Anchor Man and the Beastie Boys“.

There’s even room for a love song with Constellations. It’s eclectic stuff.

“This album feels like a natural progression,“ adds Rory. “It’s been about two years since I listened to our first album and hearing it again I thought, wow, we’ve changed so much.

“Back then we had the same opinions but weren’t as confident. We’ve fine-tuned it as we’ve grown up and learned how to express ourselves a bit better.“

A transition perhaps from blanket outrage to a more measured and focused anger.

“Music is our outlet. I don’t know if we’ve got more angry or just got better at expressing what we’re trying to say about the injustices of the world.

“Everyone gets frustrated and people spend a lot of time thinking how it could be different. Some go down the pub for a chat and we express it in front of a mic playing to lots of people, and over a pint with our mates in the pub as well.“

The band’s on-the-go lifestyle shows no signs of stopping, a big UK tour, headline tour of America and stints in Japan and Australia beckon.

“We don’t spend as much time at home as our girlfriends or mums would like us to,“ admits Rory. “When you’ve so many countries to cover, sometimes always being on the move can be a bit stressful. Sitting around in airports, buses and vans can get tiresome too, but I’m always twiddling about making music on my laptop.“

They’re making quite a rare appearance in St Albans this week, so is there a danger of them being mobbed?

“We’re not quite at the point where we get chased down the street Austin Powers-style unfortunately – that would be awesome.

“It’s not all the glamorous rock and roll lifestyle, but going to Thailand to work on the album was probably one of the best experiences we’ve ever had. It was literally paradise with a swimming pool and state-of-the-art recording studio. There we were, sat in the swimming pool drinking beers and laughing at each other and thinking; how did we get here?“

Enter Shikari will be doing an in-store signing at HMV, St Peters Street, St Albans on Friday, January 20 at 5pm. Details: www.entershikari.com

Tour dates are:

March 2012 17th - EDINBURGH - Corn exchange 18th - HULL - University 19th - MANCHESTER - Apollo 20th - WOLVERHAMPTON - Civic Hall 22nd - PLYMOUTH - Pavilions 23rd - LONDON - Hammersmith Apollo