New Enter Shikari Single Premieres Tomorrow

The new Enter Shikari one-off single, Rat Race, gets its premiere tomorrow (October 31st) at 7.30 (GMT) on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show. The video for it should follow later that night. The single is the third and final stand-alone single for the band in 2013, and will be released fully on November 4th.

Enter Shikari Announce Last One-Off Single

Enter Shikari have announced that the third of their three one-off 2013 singles (following The Paddington Frisk in April, and Radiate in June) will be called Rat Race, and will be released on November 4th. The song will be premiered within the next couple of weeks.

Enter Shikari Announce Another Single

Enter Shikari have announced that they will be releasing another new track, Radiate, next week.The song will air on Monday 10th on Radio 1, as Zane Lowe's Single of the Week - tune in after 7pm (GMT) to hear it. The song follows the one-minute monster The Paddington Frisk, which was released in April. Both songs (and a third, yet to be announced) are stand-alone singles set to be released throughout 2013.

Enter Shikari Announce Single

Enter Shikari have announced that they will be releasing a new song, The Paddington Frisk, on the evening of April 4th. The song is the first of three tracks which are set to be released sporadically throughout 2013. The song is not currently planned to be on their fourth record, but as that is a long way from being finished, that could change.

Best Of 2012: #2

#2 - Enter Shikari - A Flash Flood Of Colour

I have never been more surprised by an album than this one. I love both of Enter Shikari's other albums, but when I heard their tracks Sssnakepit and Gandhi Mate, Gandhi for this album, I began to think that wasn't going to happen again. But then... both of those songs grew MASSIVELY on me (I gave the latter a 2-star rating originally, but now it would either be 4 or 5 - admittedly, it's definitely a grower) but they also pulled nine other absolutely epic tracks out of the bag to go with them. And now, we go back to January for my thoughts on the album: "This is by far the band's most listenable album - it may be heavier in parts but there are also some fantastic sing-along moments and catchy parts. It's a very rare combination but Enter Shikari have genuinely struck gold here. The lyrics do take a bit of getting used to, but sometimes they just work fantastically. Again, it's good to know that they aren't taking themselves too seriously, and they do have a very unique style to them, both musically and lyrically, which they must be given credit for in a world where the charts are dominated by everything sounding like everything else. Even if you don't like the singles and are an Enter Shikari fan, get the album. There are some massive, massive moments on here - a true masterpiece. Let it grow on you like I did, it'll be worth it. And if nothing else, you can't deny that the band have some of the greatest song titles of all time!" In addition to that, I'd like to award Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here with my newly introduced 'guitar solo of the year' (it's gonna be a thing... seriously...). It's properly epic. So now it's Christmas Eve (at least, when this was published) and we have one more album, the greatest of this year's collection. If you follow this blog, you'll definitely have figured out which one it is. All will be revealed tomorrow for Christmas!

RECOMMEND: Search Party, Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here, Pack Of Thieves
LOW POINTS: Sssnakepit, Stalemate

Album Review: Enter Shikari - A Flash Flood Of Colour

I've been a fan of Enter Shikari ever since their first album came out. I'm not a fan of metal or the heavier end of rock as a general rule, but their blend of electronics and many other genres was somehow very appealing. Three albums in and they've expanded ther style even further. A Flash Flood Of Colour takes a slightly more poppy turn in places but heavier and more powerful in others. The political and world-weary lyrics have fully taken over this time; every song has them which does take a bit of getting used to. After the release of Destabilise and Quelle Surprise, two fantastic singles (not on the album!) came Sssnakepit, back in September, and Gandhi Mate, Gandhi a couple of months later - and on first listen, I genuinely hated both. After the latter one came out I thought maybe this album wasn't worth a try. But I gave in when the two singles grew slowly on me (Gandhi... is now one of my favourite Enter Shikari tracks) and I am pleased to announce that Enter Shikari have crafted something absolutely mind-blowing.

So, we open with the opening duo System... and ...Meltdown. The former starts off the same way as Common Dreads, but then gives way to some programmed strings and lead singer Rou flying into a political rant (get used to that, he does that a lot). Towards the end you can hear it building and building... and then with the whole band shouting "our future!" the heavy guitar of track two smashes in. Meltdown re-uses some of the strings from its partner track but this one is far heavier and faster - very recognisable as Enter Shikari - with some epic drops to boot. Compared to the rest of the album, it's actually the weakest link for me, as it seems to just go in circles with a few changes here and there. But it's still a great track and I still love it, it's just that the other 10 tracks are a bit better.

Sssnakepit, then. The other weaker link. I've never been massively keen on Sssnakepit, but it has grown on me a lot since its release. It has a monster of a chorus that feels slightly free of the madness and politics dominating the lyrics of the rest of the album - "come and join the party, leave anxieties behind" - the verses unfortunately leave a little bit to be desired, however. The most recent single, Arguing With Thermometers, is far better. Making itself known instantly with the heavy guitar announcing itself along with the vocals, it gets straight into its stride. It takes a slightly dubby turn here and there, but you can tell the band were having fun being let loose with all the synths. It's a very catchy tune.

The other single is Gandhi Mate, Gandhi, the most ludicrous and oddest thing that the band have ever done and may ever do. It begins with a 40-second rant ending with "we're sick of this shit!" before flying through about three or four other sections that sound completely different from each other and yet manage to fit within the four minutes and a half it occupies on the album. The first section ends with the band trying to calm their outspoken lead singer down - "Gandhi, mate, remember Gandhi". At least you can't say they take themselves too seriously. Soon after follows a fantastic lyric, "yabba dabba do one son!" and another verse before flying off in another direction - this song does not sit still for a second. It gets heavier at the end before it descends into synth madness as "emergency frequencies" is repeated slowly until the song's end. It's such an unbelievably odd song, it's not really a shock that I couldn't stand it first time. But given time, it's actually very good!

The heaviest moment on the album comes from Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide, the penultimate track on the album. The first word I would use to describe it is apocalyptic. Opening with a menacing string instrument (no idea what) and the declaration that "empires always fall" before the guitar comes in at full power with some sort of air raid siren, then onto the verse which is not sung, but screamed as loud as possible. The chorus, on the other hand, takes the song skyward - the heaviness drops a bit but the background music accompanying it is just so epic.

Another heavy moment comes from Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here, even though it doesn't sound like it at all. The first half of the song is one you can sing along to, starting off with just a drum and then a lone guitar before building up a little bit. The chorus is, of course, epic - even if the lyrics are just the title repeated! After going for round two, the song changes (it even tells you it's changing with the words "transformation in progress") before the guitars build allowing Rou to scream "a flash flood of colour!" over the top, although his voice has been restrained in the mix. And then comes the previously mentioned heavy moment... one of the most thunderous, massive guitar riffs I have ever heard. Seriously, this thing is an absolute beast and is without doubt the best moment on the album and the band know how strong it is, allowing it to be repeated again and again. The song also features an unexpected fade out to end it - very un-Enter Shikari!

Following on from Warm Smiles... is another favourite, Pack Of Thieves. It's maybe the most poppy venture they've ever had, but it's still clearly the same band. Starting off quite summery and happy, as the chorus is sung over the top, the song then of course adds the customary big guitar sound and lets the bouncy, incredible verse loose. When the chorus returns, it has of course been given a huge boost by all the instruments, and is another great moment for the album. It will guarantee mass sing-alongs at gigs - it's exactly the kind of song for the job. The other poppier moment happens earlier in the album in the form of Search Party, again a sing-along type of song with all the band on vocal work for the chorus, with some crowd-baiting "whoa! whoa!"s. It takes a break halfway through leaving Rou and something sounding like a glockenspiel in quite a peaceful moment... before (naturally) heavy guitars dominate proceedings for a huge middle-eight section, and then it all kicks back into the big chorus and slowly lets itself out, having made its mark on the album.

Lastly, there are two songs on the album that allow you to catch your breath and are the quietest things that the band have done. The first is Stalemate, which is an acoustic ballad (yes, I'm serious) that slowly builds up its instruments before heading into rockier territory towards the end. The two things that may annoy are the fact that the lyrics do not fit the song and at the start they may sound a little odd as they manage to fit millionaire, billionaire (twice) and trillionaire into the first ten seconds (!) and the second is the overlong outro which doesn't end when it should do - the band are usually masters of knowing when the right time is to stop something in a song, but here it's a little off. The second song I mentioned is the closing track, Constellations. Again, it's a beautiful piece for the first half, before everything comes in for a truly huge moment to close the album - it's serious "put-your-arm-round-your-mates" stuff. The lyrics even become incredibly moving when you listen to them, especially in the second half - it's rare that lyrics give me goosebumps, but right at the end of the album, Enter Shikari manage it. Their greatest closing song, and one of the greatest I've heard in a long time.

SUMMARY:
This is by far the band's most listenable album - it may be heavier in parts but there are also some fantastic sing-along moments and catchy parts. It's a very rare combination but Enter Shikari have genuinely struck gold here. The lyrics do take a bit of getting used to, but sometimes they just work fantastically, as I explained when talking about Constellations. Again, it's good to know that they aren't taking themselves too seriously, and they do have a very unique style to them, both musically and lyrically, which they must be given credit for in a world where the charts are dominated by everything sounding like everything else. Even if you don't like the singles and are an Enter Shikari fan, get the album. There are some massive, massive moments on here - a true masterpiece. Let it grow on you like I did, it'll be worth it. And if nothing else, you can't deny that the band have some of the greatest song titles of all time!



FAVOURITE TRACKS: Search Party, Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here, Pack Of Thieves
LEAST FAVOURITE TRACKS: Meltdown, Sssnakepit

PREVIOUS ALBUMS (as I would rate them now): Take To The Skies (4/5), Common Dreads (3.5/5)

Enter Shikari To Air New Songs

Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show has Enter Shikari's new album, A Flash Flood Of Colour, as the album of the week for this week. This means that a new song will be played every night on Radio 1 between 7pm and 9pm GMT today and up to Thursday.

A Flash Flood Of Colour will be released 16th January.

Preview A Flash Flood Of Colour

You can preview the eight unheard songs from Enter Shikari's upcoming third album, A Flash Flood Of Colour, below. Each song has a 90-second preview except for track 1, System..., which is
only 30 seconds on account of its short length. The songs Snakepit, Gandhi Mate, Gandhi and Arguing With Thermometers are not included as they are all out already.



Also, you can check out a band-made teaser here.

Enter Shikari Have Another New Single

Enter Shikari are set to unveil their new single, Arguing With Thermometers, on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show on Thursday morning between 7am and 10am. The song has been played live already, and has even been featured in a Radio 1 session, but the album version has yet to be heard. You can listen to the Radio 1 Maida Vale session version of the song here. The album, A Flash Flood Of Colour, is due out 16th January.

The single follows previous singles Snakepit and Gandhi Mate, Gandhi.

Enter Shikari Tease New Album

Enter Shikari have unveiled a trailer for their upcoming third album, A Flash Flood Of Colour shown below.



At a guess, the songs are:
"Meltdown" (fairly certain)
"Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here"
"Search Party"
"Stalemate"
"Arguing With Thermometers" (definitely)
"Snakepit" (definitely)
"Pack Of Thieves"
"Gandhi Mate, Gandhi" (definitely)
"Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide"

Enter Shikari Set To Unveil New Song

Enter Shikari have announced they will unveil another new song tomorrow night - details will be posted on their Facebook page sometime tomorrow. The song will be taken from their forthcoming third album, A Flash Flood Of Colour, which is due for release on 16th January next year.

UPDATE: The track has been revealed to be "Gandhi Mate, Gandhi". It will receive its first play tonight on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show, between 7pm and 9pm.

Enter Shikari Move Back Album Release

Enter Shikari have announced that their new album, A Flash Flood Of Colour, will be released one week later than planned - on January 16th. This is apparently due to "manufacturing problems caused by Christmas getting in the way".

Enter Shikari - A Flash Flood Of Colour

Artwork


Tracklist
01. System...
02. ...Meltdown
03. Sssnakepit
04. Search Party
05. Arguing With Thermometers
06. Stalemate
07. Ghandi Mate, Ghandi
08. Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here
09. Pack Of Thieves
10. Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide
11. Constellations

The album will be released January 9th.

The first single was Sssnakepit, released last month. You can see the video here. They have also been playing Arguing With Thermometers live.

The album will not feature previous singles Destabilise and Quelle Surprise; they were stand-alone singles.

Snakepit First Play

Enter Shikari's new single, Snakepit, is set to have its first play on Monday 19th September, on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show - it'll probably be the "Hottest Record" so I imagine it will be played around 1930 GMT.

The single is due out the day after, digitally, and is the first single off their upcoming third album, due early next year.

Enter Shikari To Release New Single

Enter Shikari will release a new single, Snakepit, on 20th September. The single is the first single from their new album, which is untitled at the moment. This means Quelle Surprise will probably not be on the album, and therefore is a standalone single similar to Destabilise.

The album is due towards the end of the year.

Enter Shikari Announce New Single

The first single off Enter Shikari's third album, due out later this year (although still being recorded at the moment), is entitled 'Quelle Surprise' - you can watch a live version here. The single is released digitally (and only digitally) on May 19th.

Enter Shikari Head Into Studio

Enter Shikari have headed into the studio to record their third album. One song title is known (Quelle Surprise - a live recording can be heard here). No other details are known other than it is expected out in November, but that's presumably a rough estimate.

New Enter Shikari Song

Only just found out about this, but here it is:



It is available on iTunes now.

Best Of 2009 - #15 - #11

Jack Peñate - Everything Is New
7/10

His debut was one of my least favourite albums of 2007, but this new album is a welcome change in direction. It sounds great; I like all the songs bar Give Yourself Away, but songs such as Be The One and Tonight's Today are very good indeed.

The Twang - Jewellery Quarter
7/10
Original review here.

Metric - Fantasies
7/10
I discovered this album quite recently, even though it was released in spring. From the moment I heard the opener, Help I'm Alive, I knew I was going to like this. I was very happy to prove myself right. Sick Muse and Gimme Sympathy are perhaps the best on the album, but every song is good. The closer, Stadium Love, is also another favourite, along with Gold Guns Girls.

The View - Which Bitch?
8/10
Original review here.

Enter Shikari - Common Dreads
8/10
Original review here.

Album Review: Enter Shikari - Common Dreads

Album: Common Dreads
Artist: Enter Shikari
Singles: Antwerpen (free download), Juggernauts

Enter Shikari's new album is not as good as their first, but still has its defining moments. It has plenty of references to the first album as well - which I'll point out below. Anyway, the album sounds great in general. Just not as good as Take To The Skies.

Common Dreads
We open with a typical Enter Shikari skit, just like on their first album. A dark and spooky voice reads out a poem, with children's voices joining in, before people saying "we must unite" in several languages. Then back with the spooky voice: "And we must let the floodgates open." OK. The oddities are over. Now comes the line, "Here tonight, I clock a thousand heads, here to unite, through common dreads!"

Solidarity
The last line of the previous track leads into a powerful and fast electric song, that really gets you going. After a powerful opening, it goes into some weird electronic sounds with drumming intervals. Quite odd. Then comes the third part of the song, which sounds like a hands-in-the-air moment for live shows. Here comes our first Take To The Skies reference, as a choir sing "and still we will be here, standing like statues" (which was sung in three songs on the bands' debut) It is amazing how they can fit three different parts of a song into just over three minutes, but it is a fantastic start to the album.

Step Up
Straight after this, electronic sounds come in to segue into this equally as fast song. It is a much more head-banging song from the band (not without precedent) but still good. The chorus sounds great too. A sure crowd-pleaser.

Juggernauts
The brilliant opening single with Mike Skinner-esque vocals as "Now, don't get me wrong, I love what you've done with the place" is sung. It's a minute longer than the single as well. They have extended the middle bit and we get another round of "I'm not saying that we could do better..." and the "Imagine... imagine..." bit fades out leaving the background playing. The other change is the ending. We get a few more lines there as well. It hasn't changed the wonders of this song.

Wall
We start to calm down now with a calm verse where it sounds like they're singing about calling people walls... wait, what? I'm sure there's some symbolism in there somewhere. Never mind that, this sounds really good, and has a superb buildup to the chorus, which in turn, changes the song as "It's glorious outside" is shouted over the catchy background.

Zzzonked
Hmm... sounds really like Hadouken!, only a lot heavier. The song doesn't change that much until some electronic sounds round it off. I'm not too keen on this song, but it does grow after a few listens.

Havoc A
"The lions are at the door," opens this electronically based song. Heard on the teaser for Common Dreads. Then before it sounds like it's going to get going, we realise it's only a skit. Damn. Oh well, there's a Havoc B! Oh, and there's a reference to the first album (well, a B-side from it - an awesome B-side though), as we get "Just another day in the acid nation"

No Sleep Tonight
Another reference to the first album: "You and me, we're going to take to the skies." That aside, this is a fantastic song, the chorus being a highlight, as Rou screams "You're not... getting any sleep tonight," one of the best from this album.

Gap In The Fence
A slow ballad, we start with a buildup to a great mixture of voices and some light drums, before the song welcomes in a chant of "Whoa...oh, oh, oh!" with some fantastic electronic background noises. More brilliance.

Havoc B
As you can guess, the sequel to Havoc A. But the sequel never tends to be as good as the first. As is the case here. Oh and "the lions are at the door" again. This ends with what sounds like a protest or a demonstration: "Shut down the war machines! All this killing is obscene!"

Antwerpen
The free download. It's heavy and powerful, particularly at about a minute in, when the song gives way to a mix of electronics and guitar. Good stuff.

The Jester
Once you get past the boring, light-hearted music at the front, you get some screaming in Enter Shikari fashion, before the song wanders off and goes very electronic, which will have keep the crowds happy live. Then we get the light-hearted music again at the end. Odd combination.

Halcyon
Just a little jingly skit to prelude Hectic.

Hectic
Fantastic. After the powerful intro, we get some piano, then the song goes into its chorus, before launching in some fantastic sounds that Enter Shikari seem to be producing on this album.

Fanfare For The Conscious Man
Not a great way to end the album. I'm not very keen on this one either. It's just a load of political arguments with some music in the background. But when it gets going, it gets going really well. It makes you want to sing along when the lyrics "We'll be together against this..." come in.

In general, different and not as good as Take To The Skies, but still shows that Enter Shikari are still great.

For the record, their previous albums: Take To The Skies (9/10)