Label: SO Recordings
Released: 21st April 2023
Written and recorded after an unfamiliar bout of writer’s block, on ‘A Kiss for the Whole World’ Enter Shikari reassert their credentials as one of the UK’s most important rock bands.
Harnessing the energy of the sun to record in a converted barn running purely on solar panels, the album is an all-out assault, not pausing for breath across nine thumping tracks and their associated electronic interludes.
The opening title track is a contemporary ode to joy, with classical references beefed up by hardcore guitar chugs. ‘Deadwood’ is the closest we come to slowing things down, lamenting loneliness in a hyper-connected digital world, before album highlight ‘Jailbreak’ picks up the pace, singer Rou Reynolds questioning the fluidity of identity via an unrelenting instrumental.
After the uncertainty of having live shows temporarily taken away from them and the loss of purpose that came with it, this is an album that doesn’t overcomplicate things and is built to be enjoyed in the sweat of a sold out show.
