“I want to feel the way you feel.
I want to feel the way you feel.”

I cried, tears streaming down my face. That was the first time I heard the sublime centrepiece of Enter Shikari‘s new album, A Kiss For The Whole World. I sobbed the second time I heard the affecting audio and yet again for a third, when I remembered a friendly conversation I had last summer…

On the eve of their Reading Festival main stage performance, Shikari‘s bass player and harmonious vocal heart, Chris Batten, told me that their forthcoming record had a song on it that was their Eleanor Rigby. March forward to Spring 2023 – frantic plucks flurry, becoming sharp string stings to lead Dead Wood into a lyrical, honest observation that encompasses modern living, with a honed echo of The Beatles’ 1966 story:

“She looked busy, scrolling herself to death. I guess she had nothing left, but desire, desire…”

The following guttural, harsh scream from lead vocalist and electronics conductor Rou Reynolds hurts to hear, because it erupts after an internal question we’ve all asked ourselves when we haven’t felt enough affection and genuine human connection.

“Am I no good? Am I made of wood? Am I just dead wood?” 

Rob Rolfe’s drums beat the message back with a depth hitherto unheard from Shikari’s soundscapes. Chords of power from Rory Clewlow’s axe CRACK to split the wooden heart open wide. 

A deep breath… 

“I wish I could feel the way you feel.”

The unbearable weight of vocodered tenderness pours out into a beautiful, life affirming cacophony from the four St Albans’ statues still standing. It could have been a glorious end to the record, but Enter Shikari give us this emotional embrace halfway through, because they’re only just getting started. First stop, Euphoria Central Station.

“Before that, it would have been my nan. She’d always be watching old black and white films or big band jazz – from Louis Armstrong to Glenn Miller. Being introduced to all that stuff made me want to learn trumpet. That was my first musical memory, watching big band jazz with her…” 

(Rou Reynolds, interviewed in Standing Like Statues – The Enter Shikari Authorised Biography by Luke Morton, Faber Music Limited, 2022)

Symphonic synth simulations from debut album Take to The Skies rose to triumphant trumpets on Fanfare for the Conscious Man before they soothed in the sonic surrounds of Shinrin Yoku. Much like the band themselves, Rou’s brass brilliance has evolved over the years. On their latest opening salvo, the horns burst forth with bombast to grasp your ears, as powerful digital BWAHS blast out from underneath the mix. Pitch shifted staccato shouts of “GO GO GO” rush up high, like a child playing with the dial on a sound desk. Rory C with the rapid riff to match, Rolfy’s drums roll in at furious speed to build the battle cry- 

💋 “This kiss for the whole world!” 🌐

A compassionate call to arms for the billions willing to open their hearts and minds. It’s an absolute belter of an opening and truly transcendent to hear live.

“Here begins our interval. Please take this opportunity to relax with your beverage of choice at our bar or relieve yourself in our immaculate bathroom facilities.”

Dear readers of Original Rock dot net, I’m going to level with you. I could and would write an entire treatise on this album and band I adore so. Unfortunately I just don’t have the time or capacity to do it (at least not right now!). So, with that in mind, let’s take a note from the Enter Shikari live playbook, shall we?

“This concludes our Interval, please return to your seats and cast them asunder so you’re ready for the…”

QUICKFIRE ROUND! REVIEW REEEEEMIIIIIXX!!
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NINE TRACKS IN NINE SENTENCES (kinda 😉 )
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CAN I GET A SHOO SHOO SHOO?!?

(pls) set me on fiiiiiiiireeeee as I don’t think a better first single could have been picked and I do declare this track shall SLAP. FOREVER!

It Hurts to admit I didn’t click with this song initially, but hearing Chris Batten’s beautiful bridge lead into that banger of a chorus hasn’t just grown on me – it hath rooted itself deep within my retroflex.

Leap Into the Lightning: I can’t possibly express how much Rou’s scream of “BOOOIIIILLLLL” makes me smile and wish I was in my own screamo band.

Those feed your soul phasers are set to STUNT on those who doubt in the trance that the electronics can enter you into.

Bloodshot had me hypnotised from the start of THAT synth line. Shikari’s ongoing commentary on how our vision is being destroyed by the immediate ability to broadcast ourselves in dull repetition via deceptive devices remains poignant as ever. 

I couldn’t appreciate the richness of the City of Prague’s Philharmonic Orchestra until hearing the strings from Bloodshot (Coda) on vinyl, so let’s keep fingers crossed for a sold-out Royal Albert Hall show in the band’s future. 

Shikari have never been shy of a silly song and at first blush, goldfish is just that, but it’s already clear that this will be a Shikari Fam favourite, because the resistance is strong with this one. 

No-one knows what they’re doing or who they really are, which is why Giant Pacific Octopus (i don’t know you anymore) is so reassuring to someone like me who wants to embrace every side of myself, because I do know I’ve got more identities in my repertoire than I might ever be able to fathom!

Leave them uncertain, leave them unsure and leave them

wanting 

more…
 
Just like a giant pacific octopus swirling off into infinity… – an instrumental exit that wades into open water, embracing the existential unknown with calm, confident serenity in oneself.

“I long to feel the way you feel.”

I’ve never felt such compersion and elation upon an album’s release before. Knowing that everyone would get to hear what I’ve been fortunate enough to experience for the past month, I woke up so excited, like it was Christmas morning. After reading this delightful fan’s reaction thread on twitter, I immediately went to stream the album. But I didn’t start at the beginning as I had done on previous listens for this review. Instead, I went straight to Jailbreak. I couldn’t quite articulate why this song has grown on me so much, until today.

A quiet, inner voice starts the song by saying:

“Cos you know, I don’t want to be held captive, by my own opinion of myself, d’ya know what I mean? By my own idea of who I am…”

I’ve been coming to terms with my own personal revolution and journey of self-rediscovery these past few years – especially these last couple of months – so I’ve had those lines that become lyrics and the refrain of “I hope I keep hope intact, I hope I keep hoping” on repeat in my mind. 

To me, Jailbreak is the spiritual descendent of Undercover Agents from Shikari’s fifth album, The Spark. We all have those songs and albums, the ones that help us through some of the most difficult times in our lives. The Spark and Undercover Agents are still that for me, because I’ve been howling with the wolves my whole life, searching for myself in the doubtful, dissenting mists of my own mind and how I see myself through others. Put simply, Jailbreak helps me feel I’m on the right path through the fog, so I hope it does the same for you.

On A Kiss For the Whole World, Enter Shikari bottle thunder and lightning across a sunshine illuminated sky of vibrant, complex human emotion. Grab a glass and drink in deep, because this is an album for everyone who ever wanted to feel the way you feel.