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Enter Shikari

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Album ReviewReviews
April 25, 2023
Midnite Mitch

Enter Shikari – A Kiss For The Whole World

Its been 3 years since we ventured out into the great unknown with Rou and the gents from Enter Shikari. The Great Unknown can be an incredibly fickle thing, it can bring you to your destination quickly or you can wander, get lost and eventually rediscover yourself, which seems to be the path that Enter Shikari took. There were some doubts as to how long it could have been in between albums but with the brand-new album, A Kiss For The Whole World, a bright light has been cast in this current world of turmoil and uncertainty for everyone to look to for a piece of positivity in sound format.

Enter Shikari are one of the very few bands that I will try and listen to the lyrics before the music, being a little bit of a muso myself, I tend to gravitate to everything else first before lyrics, but these guys have always had incredible and inspiring lyrics, Rou’s messages are always worth a listen. The topics of choice for this album pass over, identities and Self-esteem or Self-worth, this is a very introspective album. Which makes sense, the time it was written was a solitary time for a lot of people, where else could you look but in?

With this record, they brought back a sense of DIY and freedom to their writing and recording process. Rou directed and produced the single video clips for (pls) set me on fire, It Hurts and Bloodshot and they went out to a farmhouse, powered off solar power, to try and rebuild themselves from the ground up. A Kiss For The Whole World is incredibly accessible to new fans, the music is light on the electronic aspect, incredibly catchy sing along choruses and rockin’ guitar riffs from start to finish. The album is only just over 30mins long, songs are straight to the point and with no real filler tracks, there are only 2 tracks that are the typical hardcore electro bounce that will be amazing in the live set for Rou to jump around to and they are the little outro filler track things they put in.

I couldn’t stop singing along after only a couple of listens of this album, all the choruses are catchy and have wicked hooks, my favourite track was Giant Pacific Octopus (I don’t know you anymore). It has such a catchy guitar and keys riff that got me right from the start. Lyrically it had me as well, dealing with the question of identity, go and check this one out! The singles for this album were a solid choice, (pls) set me on fire, It Hurts and Bloodshot, they show all the elements of the album and what to expect. Although they are great tracks, they aren’t the best off the album in my opinion, so that means you will enjoy the other songs more if you already liked them! Which is what I always hope when bands choose singles, don’t give away the best track straight up.

The new tracks from A Kiss For The Whole World will add more messages to the live performance, the introspective aspect is just another positive message for Rou to bring to the world. I was lucky enough to catch their gig at The Forum in Melbourne last year and their music translates live incredibly well, as well as their messages. The energy these guys bring out in their shows is incredibly positive and you can’t help but get into it. Stop doing your normal everyday routine, sit down, go get some sun and have a listen to this album. It pays to stop and think about something bigger than yourself from time to time and you’ve now got a perfect album to do that to.

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Gig ReviewsReviews
November 13, 2022
Midnite Mitch

Enter Shikari @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne 11/11/2022

The Forum in Melbourne would have to be one of my favourite venues, it looks absolutely stunning and I’m yet to hear a bad mix there, it’s magic. It has been a few years since I was last here and it still blows my mind when walking in. For those of you who haven’t been there, think a Greek auditorium inside a venue, an incredibly high ceiling with lights that look like stars, my words won’t do it justice, just go to a show there. It’s the perfect setting for tonight’s upbeat and energetic crowd who are an incredibly mixed bag, there were death metal shirts, the hardcore/punk shirts, the goth chicks, the woo girls and the guys that looked like they just finished work and come straight to the gig! Everyone was keen to be here.

Opening tonight are local up and comers Windwaker, who I found out during the set was the “new” singers first time fronting the band, apparently there was a change of the guard recently. For a first show taking the front, this guy nailed it. There is a reason these guys are getting more and more hype, they deserve it! Straight from the opening notes they came out hard and fast, the energy was high, and they smashed through their set with incredible precision. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands from the start with their catchy as hell riffs and then won over the filling room with an awesome cover of Britney Spears, Toxic. Great choice for opening tonight’s gig!

Creeper, punk, goth, English rockers had a hard time following up Windwakers incredible set but goddamn, they got there, won over and made a room full of fans out of The Forum by the end of their set. Going from energetic electro metal to a mix between Misfits and My Chemical Romance was a massive difference and you could feel it in the crowd, people were unsure but for their first Aussie gig ever, Creeper showed us the reason that they are the main supports for Enter Shikari. Their energy was incredible and regardless of crowd reaction or how little they had at the start, that front man riled them up got them to start a crowd chant and sing along. They have a female keyboard player who stayed to the back most of the time and had backing vocals occasionally but mid set she grabs a mic and comes center stage and sings a duet song with the male lead and they played their parts well, it was incredible to watch. Their set on a grandiose big sounding song that was the perfect ending and switch to the headliners.

Enter Shikari, the reason we all came out tonight, they bring with them a message of human kindness and disgust at the corporate/capitalist ideals, anyone who has listened to them or seen them live know they carry this mantra or outlook in life. Their crowd have the same vibe, the entire night, everyone is friendly and there to experience the ride of the show. Coming out to The Great Unknown, the crowd immediately starts singing and it doesn’t let up until the end of their set. Rou sets the rules, forget the outside world for the time of the show and 2nd rule is dance like nobody is watching, which everyone did. They blast through a great set of classics and latest material like The Pressure’s on, Dreamers Hotel and Juggernauts. When playing Destablise and Anaesthetist, the venue physically shakes when it hits the breakdown sections and the crowd are jumping, a man-made earthquake, there is no other feeling like it. The band take to the crowd towards the end of the set during Mothership, Chris and Rory jump down for a mosh and then Rou goes rogue and runs around the entire venue jumping through the crowd and crowd surfing everywhere. They end their set with a crowd singalong to Live Outside with and amazing coloured light show to match.

As previously mentioned, the Enter Shikari message carries some weight to it these days, it’s a reminder that you should be kind to each other, we are each human individuals that should be looking out for each other instead of having this ideal that we are against each other in all aspects of life. To live in the moment of the show and forget the worries of the outside world for 90mins is a small reprieve that they like to remind people. I don’t tend to get preachy in these things, but these guys live by their message, check them out if you haven’t already, well worth the listen.

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