Enter Shikari are today sharing the video for ‘(pls) set me on fire’, the lead single to be taken from their highly anticipated new album, A Kiss For The Whole World which will be released on 21st April via SO Recordings / Ambush Reality.
Pre-order A Kiss For The Whole World here.
Commenting on the video lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds says: “I’ve not always been happy with our previous music videos, so figured I’d put my money where my mouth was and direct these ones myself. I wanted the ‘(pls) set me on fire’ video to feel minimal and uncomplicated, which is actually the polar opposite of the next video.
So, given that the main function of this video is really just to set up the next one, I think it came out f****** great.”
Hear ‘(pls) set me on fire’ on streaming services here
More about A Kiss For The Whole World +new single ‘(pls) set me on fire’
As the calendar now signals three years since Enter Shikari last released an album – their UK #2 charting album Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible – it is useful to think back to the final question the band last posed fans: “Is this a new beginning? / Or are we close to the end?” Little could they know just how close to the end things would end up feeling as the events of the early ‘20s dimmed the light in the furnace of their live juggernaut, and connection to their fans. “At the time it felt like we ourselves, as musicians, were experiencing the death of our band,” says lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds.
Unsurprisingly, the key in the band’s ignition came in the form of a live show as they headlined the Download Festival Pilot in front of 10,000 fans. Where not a single new word flowed from the pen of Reynolds in the two years prior, a realisation was born that would come to define the band’s seventh LP: “I just didn’t realise that the human and physical connection to other people were so central to how I write,” he says. Enter Shikari isn’t just four people – it’s hundreds of thousands.
As new single ‘(pls) set me on fire’ heralds the next stage in the band’s evolution, the first words we hear from Enter Shikari 2.0 don’t come in the form of a question this time, but a command: “Please set me on fire”. In other words, ignite the spark inside us and set us free.This may be a new Enter Shikari but they’ve lost nothing in their flair for bold opening gambits.
Reynolds comments on the single’s conception: “Honestly, I thought I was f*****. I’ve never felt so detached from my soul, my purpose, my f****** spirit. I didn’t write music for almost two years. The longest I’d gone before that was two weeks. I was broken. It’s almost as if my brain had asked: “What is the point in music if it cannot be shared? What is the point in writing music if it’s not to be experienced with others?” and then promptly switched itself off. ‘(pls) set me on fire’ grew out of that desperation. This song is a projectile vomit of positive energy. Every emotion trapped inside me for two years, finally set free.”
It was in the Spring of 2022 that the band descended to the coastal town of Chichester, and a delipidated farmhouse, to rebuild their studio setup and capture their renewed momentum on record. Using only solar power to track the album – in what Reynolds says was to “bring back some sense of naivety” – the life-giving properties and Technicolor palate of A Kiss For The Whole World were made real. Reynolds continues: “Back to basics. This band – my best friends – bundled into an old farmhouse, miles away from anywhere. Off-grid, and ready to rediscover ourselves. This album is powered by the sun, the most powerful object in our solar system. And I think you can tell. It’s a collection of songs that represent an explosive reconnection with what Enter Shikari is. The beginning of our second act”.
Enter Shikari have also announced a run of very special album release shows across, Europe and the US today, as well as special 2023 UK residency shows to take place through the Spring. Reynolds explains their thinking: “It’s hard to do anything interesting with live shows today. We wanted to do something different. We’re going to become a local band to five major cities in the UK. It’s going to be interesting to see how the shows evolve every time we return.”
Exclusive access to tickets begins 19th Jan for members of the band’s fan club, or anyone pre-ordering the album here. General sale begins 26th Jan.
Feb 15 – HERE at Outernet, London, UKFeb 16 – New Century Hall, Manchester, UKFeb 17 – KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, UKFeb 19 – SWX, Bristol, UKFeb 20 – St Luke’s, Glasgow, UKMar 14 – New Century Hall, Manchester, UKMar 15 – St Luke’s, Glasgow, UKMar 16 – KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, UKMar 17 – HERE at Outernet, London, UKMar 18 – SWX, Bristol, UKApr 05 – Knust, Hamburg, DEApr 07 – Botanique, Brussels, BEApr 08 – Luxor, Koln, DEApr 13 – St Luke’s, Glasgow, UKApr 14 – New Century Hall, Manchester, UKApr 15 – KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, UKApr 16 – SWX, Bristol, UKApr 17 – HERE at Outernet, London, UKMay 03 – Echoplex, Los Angeles, USAMay 05 – Bottom Lounge, Chicago, USAMay 10 – Bowery Ballroom, New York, USA
Enter Shikari – A Kiss For The Whole World album track listing
1. A Kiss for the Whole World x2. (pls) set me on fire3. It Hurts4. Leap into the Lightning5. feed yøur søul6. Dead Wood7. Jailbreak8. Bloodshot9. Bloodshot (Coda)10. goldfĭsh ~11. Giant Pacific Octopus (i don’t know you anymore)12. giant pacific octopus swirling off into infinity…
FOLLOW ENTER SHIKARI
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
