enter shikari
[Photo by Jamie Waters]

Enter Shikari rise from the ashes with “(pls) set me on fire,” announce 7th album A Kiss For The Whole World

Rejoice! U.K. electronicore titans Enter Shikari have risen from the ashes, forged in the flames of a new beginning, to present their victorious, stadium-ready new single, “(pls) set me on fire.” Additionally, the band have announced their long-awaited seventh studio album, A Kiss For The Whole World, due April 21 via SO Recordings/Ambush Reality. 

On “(pls) set me on fire,” vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds showcases his signature vocal prowess, channeling an almost Freddie Mercury-esque range over down-tuned guitars and fluttering synth leads. It conjures the youthful energy that initially put Enter Shikari on the map and cemented them as fixtures in the space of heavy alternative music. The uplifting qualities behind the latest track come after a period of self-doubt for Reynolds, who admits that he experienced severe writer’s block and dissociation from live performance and human engagement during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Thankfully, upon returning to the stage in late 2021, Reynolds found his creative muse once again, this time in the form of his band’s legion of dedicated fans. “I just didn’t realize that the human and physical connection to other people were so central to how I write,” he shares in a press release. “‘(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.” 

Now armed with a fiery new single and a rejuvenated mindset, Enter Shikari have returned with A Kiss For The Whole World, a labor of loved recorded in a British farmhouse, immune to outside distractions in an effort to capture lightning in a bottle once again. Reynolds promises that the band are getting “back to the basics,” sharing, “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.” 

Listen to “(pls) set me on fire” below