Enter Shikari have introduced new album ‘A Kiss For The World’, shared new single ‘(Pls) Set Me On Hearth’ and confirmed residencies in 5 UK cities. Get all the small print beneath, alongside our interview with frontman Rou Reynolds.
‘A Kiss For The Complete World’ is out in April and “feels just like the second coming of Enter Shikari,” in response to Reynolds. The primary tune written for the report was lead single ‘(Pls) Set Me On Hearth’.
“It was this explosive factor,” Reynolds advised NME. “That tune encompasses the expertise of the previous few years. It’s the craving for transcendency, creativity and having the ability to join with folks.
“There’s an depth to it. It’s bought full verses of shouting or pitched screaming. It’s one of the vital anguish-filled songs we’ve accomplished for a very long time. It’s bought that unique Shikari essence to it, actually.”
The band’s earlier album ‘Nothing Is True And All the things Is Potential’ was launched weeks into the primary lockdown, with Enter Shikari having to attend over a 12 months to play any of the songs stay. On the similar time, Reynolds was going by way of an excruciating bout of author’s block.
“I can’t actually put into phrases simply how disorientating and scary that point was,” he advised NME. “My mind was mainly saying, ‘What’s the purpose in writing music in case you can’t share it in a stay expertise with others?’ My sense of function had disappeared. It was very surreal as a result of we have been primarily witnessing the demise of the band, and we couldn’t do something about it.”
Issues fortunately shifted after the band headlined the Obtain Pilot check occasion in the summertime of 2021. “It was only a cocktail of feelings,” stated Reynolds who started writing music for the primary time in over 20 months shortly afterwards.
The ensuing album ‘A Kiss For The Complete World’ captures the “jubilation and euphoria” that got here from taking part in stay once more. “There’s a number of excessive tempo stuff on the report,” Reynolds stated.
Early in 2022, the band rented out a dilapidated farmhouse to create a brief studio to report what would develop into the brand new album. “The entire thing was run by solar energy,” stated Reynolds. “It was simply us and our engineer George Perks, no in-house engineers, no assistant producers and no set approach of doing issues. It felt like making music in Chris [Batten’s] storage as youngsters once more. It had that very same sense of naïve, endearing pleasure.”
He continued: “There was an actual sense of urgency. There was by no means some extent the place we sat down and actually mentioned what the album was going to be about, and there was no sense of organisation. It was simply manic.”
The result’s an album “as assorted as ever,” in response to Reynolds. “Possibly it’s extra intense than something we’ve accomplished earlier than,” he went on. “Hopefully folks can hear the exasperation and the jubilation. I believe what makes it higher is that it was all simply pure. It’s not finessed, it’s fairly uncooked.
“The one factor we spoke about amidst all of the disorganised concepts was that we needed to make a excessive power album of bangers. Millennials and Gen Z – we don’t like to attend for something. We would like our dessert earlier than our major course. We’re not fascinated with delayed gratification however as a band, we could be fairly proggy once we need to; however this album has no six-minute tune that tells some wild story because it winds its approach by way of totally different genres. It’s much more targeted.”
‘A Kiss For The Complete World’ is Enter Shikari’s seventh album, with their earlier 4 all reaching the Prime Ten of the UK album chart. “Usually when folks get to this stage of their profession, the big-name songwriters and producers are available that will help you take issues to the following stage,” stated Reynolds. “There’s that strain to get a Quantity One album and to play larger venues. You lose all of the reasoning to why you began making music within the first place.”
He continued: “I’ve at all times stated this band is a pastime that bought out of hand. We by no means had ambitions to be the dimensions we’ve bought to. In fact, I don’t need to crumble into the backs of individuals’s minds or be forgotten about however on the similar time; I don’t need to get sucked into that rat race of needing to get larger for the sake of getting larger.”
“After taking part in the Obtain Pilot, it actually underlined that human connection is the factor that makes me completely satisfied, and I simply need to enhance that with this album. I’m thirsty for the sweat, the tears and all the pieces that comes from taking part in stay.”
Whereas their first few albums have been angsty and aggressive, latter data have seen the band shift to one thing extra uplifting – and ‘A Kiss For The Complete World’ is not any totally different. The album’s title observe was even impressed by Beethoven’s ‘Ode To Pleasure’.
“We needs to be celebrating moments of pleasure greater than ever proper now, as a result of they really feel so fragile and it doesn’t appear to be issues are going to get any simpler both,” stated Reynolds. “There’s a number of soul-searching and there’s actually a number of darkish themes on the report, to make use of a extremely broad time period. You possibly can’t be an activist on a regular basis since you’ll burn out, however I don’t need our music to be an inexpensive sedative both. It’s perhaps not a optimistic album, nevertheless it’s an lively one.”
He added: “I prefer to suppose our music is energising. Having one thing that’s motivating is a extremely essential factor, particularly in a world the place everybody is consistently barraged with tribalism, hatred and incivility. It’s actually tough on the market, so that you want that reminder that you simply’re not alone.”
Earlier than the discharge of ‘A Kiss For The Complete World’, Enter Shikari will “develop into an area band to 5 cities within the UK” with residencies. Beginning in February, the band will play gigs in London, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow and Wolverhampton. They’ll return in March and once more in April.
“We needed to do one thing totally different mainly,” stated Reynolds. “It’s going again to that uncooked sense of what Shikari was initially. We didn’t do excursions, we simply performed reveals continually. There’s one thing endearing about continually going again to the identical metropolis and seeing how the reveals change and progress.”
He continued: “We additionally needed to make up for misplaced time. With ‘Nothing Is True’, we weren’t capable of play these songs for over a 12 months. With these reveals, we’re going to launch a brand new tune the week earlier than every run kicks off, then play it stay virtually instantly. We’re actually spoiling ourselves.”
Past that, Enter Shikari are set to headline Slam Dunk Competition 2023 alongside The Offspring.
“Slam Dunk is greater than once we final headlined, so it does really feel like ambition is there,” stated Reynolds. “While you don’t fairly really feel comfy on any invoice or in any scene, there’s at all times a way of needing to show ourselves continually. For this reason we spend all our cash on manufacturing. There’s a way of imposter syndrome and also you need to be certain everybody is aware of that you simply’re grateful. You do put a number of strain on your self, however I believe Slam Dunk goes to the most effective present we’ve ever placed on.”
As for the Pendulum remix of ‘Sorry, You’re Not A Winner’ that debuted at Studying Competition 2022, Reynolds stated a recorded launch nonetheless within the works. “At one level, we have been going to launch it as a Christmas factor nevertheless it simply didn’t get completed in time,” he revealed. “We’ve each been too busy, mainly.”
“We’ll get to it although, and hopefully one thing else as nicely. I’m simply grateful we bought to correctly contact base and hang around in any case these years of lacking one another at festivals.”
‘A Kiss For The Complete World’ is out April 21.
Enter Shikari’s upcoming tour dates are beneath. Tickets for the reveals go on sale January 26 and will probably be obtainable right here.
Feb 15 – HERE at Outernet, London, UK
Feb 16 – New Century Corridor, Manchester, UK
Feb 17 – KK’s Metal Mill, Wolverhampton, UK
Feb 19 – SWX, Bristol, UK
Feb 20 – St Luke’s, Glasgow, UK
Mar 14 – New Century Corridor, Manchester, UK
Mar 15 – St Luke’s, Glasgow, UK
Mar 16 – KK’s Metal Mill, Wolverhampton, UK
Mar 17 – HERE at Outernet, London, UK
Mar 18 – SWX, Bristol, UK
Apr 05 – Knust, Hamburg, DE
Apr 07 – Botanique, Brussels, BE
Apr 08 – Luxor, Koln, DE
Apr 13 – St Luke’s, Glasgow, UK
Apr 14 – New Century Corridor, Manchester, UK
Apr 15 – KK’s Metal Mill, Wolverhampton, UK
Apr 16 – SWX, Bristol, UK
Apr 17 – HERE at Outernet, London, UK
Could 03 – Echoplex, Los Angeles, USA
Could 05 – Backside Lounge, Chicago, USA
Could 10 – Bowery Ballroom, New York, USA