Album Review: Enter Shikari - Lose Your Self

A surprise blessed our ears last night as Enter Shikari announced the release of a new album just after finishing their intimate show at Satan's Hollow in Manchester on April 9th. They've been my number one artist for almost 20 years now and I thought it'd be very fitting to write a review after my first listen last night and a dozen more today.

Hailing from St. Albans in Hertfordshire, forming in 1999, Enter Shikari has pioneered the post-hardcore/electronica genre since their inception. It feels weird to even try and define this band's music into a single genre – it is truly unique which is impressive in itself with today's music landscape.

Off the back of their first number one album A Kiss for the Whole World in 2023, all of us hardcore fans were expecting the arrival of something new this year, after they announced a full arena tour which will be with us in the UK towards the end of this year. In almost 40 live shows attended, this will be the biggest that I've ever been to and knowing how this band commands a stage in a live music environment, it's going to hit different in the UK's biggest indoor music venue at Co-Op Live in Manchester. You KNOW I'll be there, and take it from me that this will be unmissable.

Having not announced or released any singles in the lead up to this morning's album release, frontman Rou Reynolds had this to say about Lose Your Self:

"We're delighted to present LOSE YOUR SELF, and give people the chance to hear a Shikari record like never before – as a cohesive whole.

We want people to go on a proper journey with this album, and see where it takes them.

No lead up, no singles, and no explanation. Forcing the listener to actually listen, without being drip-fed ideas out of context, or spoon-fed explanations.

We simply present it all, for the listener to immerse themself in.

Releasing this way was also a decision to not be distracted by chart races, or accolades and things. We got the No.1 album on our last record. This is simply about the music being presented in a natural way.

Despite turning out to be one of our darkest and heaviest albums to date, it also preaches hope and offers answers. Shikari will always offer hope, because without hope there is no action. We'll just always offer it with a dose of realism."

As a long time listener of this band, this is Enter Shikari at their very core. In my opinion, one of the most prevalent socio-politically aware bands of our generation. Think Rage Against The Machine with heavy electronic influence.

Even through first listen, the ethos is still as present as ever, which is absolutely what I'd expect given today's current political landscape. As Rou said, this album overflows with hope, and targets the utter resentment towards the hoarding rich, especially in the track 'it's OK'. These lyrics say all you need to know about the band's aim with their music in the most necessary sarcastic fashion -

'You could be like me

In my luxury bunker under all the debris

You too can escape the world's problems 'cause

Fixing them's a fool's game

Just hoard wealth, insulate yourself, and no one else

Like some kind of twisted naked mole rat'

Really, need I say more? Maybe the music isn't your cup of tea, but the message should be relatable to every single conscious human being on this planet.

'Spaceship Earth's I-III' is a 3 track masterpiece and closes the record. It throws us back to Carl Sagan's idea that we are all just a tiny little speck in the grand scheme of existence, but that we need to use our short time on this planet to muster up the biggest impact we can to alter our catastrophic course. These lines close the album:

'So hold on, hold on

A change is gonna come

My love'

I think that says everything it needs to about this album's message.

I don't usually rate albums, but my personal, albeit skewed, rating of this record from literally my favourite band of all time is obviously a 10/10. It's Enter Shikari, still at their very best, holding on to the glimmer of hope that we all need to keep holding on for in this absolute shitshow of a world we live in. Give it a listen.

Label: SO Recordings

Release: 10th April 2026

Track to listen to: Shipwrecked! (My personal favourite single song, the whole Spaceship Earth trilogy is phenomenal, but listen to it all)