Image: Enter Shikari Live Photo
Enter Shikari released their new album Lose Your Self last week without any prior warning. Since the combo from St Albans, England, has consistently released new records every two to three years, the successor to the 2023 album A Kiss For The Whole World was expected, though not quite in such a surprising manner.
This makes 2026 an exciting year for Shikari fans already. In addition to the new album, the band is celebrating a club show in Manchester for the 20th anniversary of their first performance in the city—at a venue that holds just 400 people. If that doesn't promise total mayhem, I don't know what does. In the fall, the band will come to Germany for (slightly larger) concerts. And with the new album Lose Your Self, the anticipation for those shows is naturally increasing even more.
The eighth full-length player from the quartet led by frontman Rou Reynolds features twelve tracks. We checked out the record immediately and chose our top 5.
LOSE YOUR SELF
The opener and title track of the new album is essentially Shikari as a blueprint. True to the motto "What’s on the menu today?", they have taken ingredients from various genres (EDM, Industrial, Metal, Alternative, Trip-Hop), thrown them into a big pot, and let them simmer. The result is an easy-going yet structurally complex song that immediately invites you to dance. By the way, the band recommends listening to the record chronologically, as the pieces build upon one another. Thus, "LOSE YOUR SELF" transitions seamlessly into the second track of the album.
Find Out The Hard Way…
Fittingly, this is also our second favorite and stands in direct musical contrast to the opener. Life-affirming and with a message: “'Cause we are all one / And if we don't realize it now / we're gonna find out the hard way.” This is where the breakdown you were already expecting in "LOSE YOUR SELF" arrives, accompanied by powerful screams from Rou. A song from the very soul of the band and, lyrically, a reflection of our society in current world politics.
Dead In The Water
Before we leave the chronology of the album, we’ll stay right here with track 3 for our third spot. "Dead In The Water" is one of the songs on the long-player that draws more heavily from classic metalcore structures while remaining wonderfully danceable in typical Shikari fashion. There is a lot of Shikari DNA in this one, similar to "The Flick Of A Switch I". Lyrically, it gets very emotional here, too. Definitely worth a closer listen.
Shipwrecked!
If you wanted to introduce Enter Shikari to "ordinary" music listeners, "Shipwrecked!" is certainly a good song for the task. It’s about the fact that we aren't bound to stay where we are stranded, but can still rewrite our story. This message is accompanied by a classic Shikari cloak of encouraging sounds and animating vocals, culminating in a hook with massive sing-along potential. we can already see ourselves singing along at the top of our lungs at the upcoming shows this fall.
Spaceship Earth (I. Avec Abandon)
"Spaceship Earth" is a song trilogy that closes Lose Your Self. The first part of the trilogy strongly recalls early Enter Shikari releases and moves forward with plenty of drive. With vibes from the Take To The Skies or Common Dreads era, the song is likely to pick up early Shikari fans in particular. It is the rawest track on the album and passes the baton to the other two parts of the trilogy, which sound quite different but remain similar in their melody. An absolutely fascinating concept.
