Enter Shikari: All songs ranked according to me

  Enter Shikari: All songs ranked according to me

It's fairly safe to say that Enter Shikari are quite probably my favourite band, not what I'd call the best band ever or anything crazy like that, but when it comes down to it they're my favourite. It's hard not to like them when they've pumped out such a large and wide-ranging discography over their 20 or so years as a band, with there being pretty much something for everyone out there. With 6 studio albums, countless singles, remixes, acoustic versions, parody band covers (Johnny and The Snipers needs a revival) and 5 or so live albums it's a pretty major task to get through all of their back catalogue. So let's rank it. 

This list is obviously just comprised of my own opinions, preferences and tastes. It's also worth noting that I'm only ranking the songs off the studio albums and singles, I'm not including remixes or alternate versions of existing songs, although that may come later. I've tried to account for all of the songs but I've probably missed one or two here and there because it would be nigh on impossible not to. For a more detailed explanation of who the band are and a look at what songs to listen to first, check out my introduction here. Without further ado, let's get into this. 

 

95.  Supercharge

Good God this song is awful, easily the boys’ biggest misstep to date, whoever decided to get Big Narstie of all people to be the band’s foray into rap was barking up the wrong tree, in the wrong forest. Not only is Narstie’s feature cringe-worthy and awful, but the main song itself is completely forgettable, grinding and just downright uninspiring. This one’s best off forgotten

 

94. Apocaholics Anonymous (main theme in B minor)

This isn’t really meant to stand alone as a track in its own right, but due to it being listed as such on the album I’m going to judge it that way, and wow this is bad. The follow-up to the already less than mediocre ‘modern living…’, this is just a droning electronic interlude that serves absolutely no purpose on the album and should have been cut down by about a minute or even just cut entirely.

 

93. Keep It On Ice

One of the group’s earliest efforts, and it shows: the production’s off, they’ve tried to do a slower song without working out how and using lyrics like ‘You fucking noodly tangle’. Sure it’s a good laugh and way to see how far they’ve come, but as a standalone song, it’s a good thing it doesn’t see the light of day at gigs.

 

92. The Embers

Again it’s maybe not fair to judge this as an individual track, but even still it’s a bit of a dull way to close out an album, which is probably why it so often gets accused of being a dull album.

 

91. modern living...

I think I’m going to get a fair bit of stick for this amongst fans, but there’s just something about modern living that gets on my nerves so much. The slow plonking bassline, irritating distorted synths, descent into drone at the back end and leading into the even worse part 2, all just culminate in an unpleasant experience.

 

90. Halycon 

A bit of a nothing interlude that serves its place in the album as a bit of a comedown and a build up for the final two tracks but it’s a little pointless really.

 

89. The Feast

I think the best way to describe this word is simply bonkers. Full on from start to finish, it’s a bit of an odd one that feels as if the group tried to make the wackiest tune they could and came out with this. Ultimately it’s a bit of a mish-mash of ideas that’s unpolished and just don’t really go together that well.

 

88. The Revolt Of The Atoms

Another of the sci-fi based songs that just doesn’t work. The lyrics are cringey, trying to create some sort of word creation-of-the-world story that just doesn’t pay off or make much sense. On the whole Shikari’s later production is spot on but this sounds a bit muddled and the mixing’s a bit off entirely, which isn’t helped by just how bad of a song it is.

 

87. Never Let Go Of The Microscope

I’m not sure what it is about this song, but just something about it for me absolutely winds me up the wall and just makes it so difficult to like. I’m not sure whether it’s Rou’s near-rapping, the irregular rhythms that feel quite jarring or the weird eerie echoing in the production but just something about this song works on approximately zero levels for me.

 

86. Hello Tyrannosaurus, Meet Tyrannicide

A lot of the songs in the band’s discography have strange and often sci-fi themes, with many of them working quite well. This is not one of them. I know what they’re trying to say, about humanity not having seen what’s happened in the past and how we’re on a path to destruction due to international conflicts, rising nuclear arsenals and the climate crisis. But it just doesn’t quite work, the metaphor’s a bit muddled and crass, not to mention it’s just a bit of a drag of a song.

 

85. Interlude

One of the better interludes on the albums, actually offering something besides repeating the main musical theme. Having said that it is just an interlude, and a fairly short one, so it can only rank so high.

 

84. Marionettes (I. The Discovery of Strings)

A song made to be remixed live, the middle section of electronics, samples and synths manage to keep what’s a fairly tired song alive. The rest of the track is just fairly uninteresting and a bit half-baked.

 

83. Acid Nation

Another one of the early tracks that could do with a bit of a rework that would make it into a really great cut. However, in its current form it just doesn’t quite hit the mark, it all feels a little disjointed, the lyricisms not quite there yet and it feels very much like a band trying to find its feet.

 

82. The Bank of England

Something about this one just doesn’t click, it feels as though they wrote the song and didn’t quite have the energy to commit and give it the aggression and passion it deserves. Surely a song with the lyric ‘I blew up the bank of England’ shouldn’t be a half-assed semi-ballad with tired instrumentals> They give it a bit of a go in the last minute or so but it’s too little too late. Oh well, bit of an opportunity wasted but it is what it is.

 

81. Slipshod

I feel like I’m missing something about Slipshod, maybe it’s just because this particular style of electronic music does absolutely nothing for me or I need to hear it live to fully appreciate it, but God I just do not get the love it garners.

 

80. Hoodwinker

Moving out of the songs that I actively dislike is Hoodwinker, just before dropping The Spark, Shikari’s poppiest record, they released perhaps one of their heaviest tracks. An absolutely ferocious beast with nice melodic interludes to break up the aggression, done so with catchy hooks and riffs, Hoodwinker isn’t the best song they’ve penned but it’s a decent effort.

 

79. Zzzonked

As much as I do miss the heavier side of the band, this song is proof that just because they’re heavy doesn’t mean they’re better. It’s still a decent song, but there’s just nothing that stands out about it amongst the rest of the songs of the same era.

 

78. Reprise 1

‘And still we will be here standing like statues’. Chills

 

 

77. All Eyes on the Saint

I’ll admit this isn’t one I know particularly well, and beyond the fairly interesting lyrical subject matter it’s not hard to see why; not to say that it’s a bad song, far from it, but it just doesn’t do much that you can’t find on other (better) songs by the group.

 

76. Torn Apart

Showing off their slightly more radio-friendly before they fully delved into it on The Spark, Torn Apart is a song that you listen to for the chorus, which is mostly worth it. Beyond that, it’s fairly forgettable and uninspiring.

 

75. Reprise 2

Adding a bit more than the first reprise but still fairly limited by its purpose and context, still, it gives us the iconic chant so it needs credit.

 

74. The Spark

A fairly bland introduction but one that sets the musical theme for the rest of the record exceedingly well and bookends with ‘The Embers’ nicely.

 

73. Reprise 3

The old era meets new with a fantastic lead into T.I.N.A.

 

72. The Appeal & The Mindsweep II

Essentially doing the opposite job of the first half of the song, this winds the album to a close in incredibly dramatic style. However, the recycled chorus, bassline and melodies feel a little tired by this point and the song loses its focus by the halfway point, descending into a bit of a rambling mess that the band unfortunately fall into the trap of on occasion. Still a good way to close out the album, this could do with just a bit of refining.

 

71. Wall

The production, especially on Rou’s vocals, are a little off on this one, I think it’d greatly benefit from a bit of a remastering. That aside, it’s a great track that builds and builds until it erupts into nigh-euphoria. This is one that I always forget exists until I listen to Common Dreads in full and realise how good it is.

 

 

70. An Ode To Lost Jigsaw Pieces

The Spark has a handful of these slower songs, so it’s no surprise that one or two fall a little flat. Unfortunately this one of such songs, it’s good at its core but it just comes across a little juvenile, simplistic and whiney, rather than raw, authentic and genuine as intended. Musically, it’s just a bit dull, the instrumentals do little to excite rather than the admittedly good swell towards the end, and it just sort of plods along.

 

69. Crossing The Rubicon 

Look, it’s not a bad song, it’s fairly well written, the production’s spot on, it’s catchy as hell and a good bit of fun which I’m sure will make a bit of a break from the heavy stuff in the gigs. But at the end of the day it’s just a fairly middle-of-the-road pop-rock track that could be from just about any band out there at the minute, not the weird and wonderful group that we’ve come to love.

 

68. Common Dreads

Another example of how the band just absolutely nail their intros time after time, in this case quite literally a call to arms in different languages and accents from all around the world. However, because the song doesn’t have much melodic substance, although it leads into another absolute banger, I can’t rank it too high.

 

 

67. Havoc A

Leaning heavily into the electronic side of their musical influences on this one to fairly good success, it suits the title fairly well as it does create a strong sense of mayhem and havoc but it’s the weaker of the two.

 

66. Kickin' Back On The Surface of Your Cheek

The Zone EP really shows how far the boys have come, yet you can still see the elements that would develop later into their iconic sound. For example, elements of this song feel somewhat similar to Juggernauts, the fastpaced instrumentals with occasional slower moments and rapidly changing vocal dynamics. But it doesn’t work quite as well, the productions not there and there just isn’t the songwriting skill that came later for them.

 

65. Gap in the Fence

Something about the mix of the acoustic guitar, the low almost-whispered vocals and rising synths in the background give this one a bit of an eerie feel to it that just doesn’t work for half of the song. They tried to create a track that builds to a rising finish but it all happens too slowly and the interesting portion of the track comes in too late to make it one that you could keep on loop.

 

64. Today won't go down in history

Another of a handful of songs that work fairly well within the context of their albums but just don’t stand up when taken out of it, evidence of a bygone era where singles and individual streams were less important than an album as a whole.

 

63. Enter Shikari

The world’s introduction to Enter Shikari and it starts with ‘shit’, this is a good start. As far as self-titled songs go (which can often be a bit naff and cringey) this one is actually pretty decent, showing off a lot of the elements that would go on to be so important for the band and introducing the classic chant ‘And still we will be here standing like statues’. It’s a good way to meet the group, let’s say that.

 

62. We Can Breathe In Space, They Just Don't Want Us To Escape.

They really had a thing for sci-fi in the early days, and it works to a certain degree here. It’s by no means their best work, the chorus feels a bit jumpy and disjointed but still works fairly well, especially given how quirky the content is.

 

61. Warm Smiles Do Not Make You Welcome Here

As much as the chorus is great, there’s just something that doesn’t quite work, it’s as though you’re just waiting for the verse to the end to get to the next chorus, and it feels like the band are doing the same.

 

60. Rat Race

There isn’t too much that makes this stand out from the rest of the band’s discography to be honest with you. It’s a good song, but it just doesn’t quite have that punch or unique chord progression that’s needed to truly make a song special.

 

59. Marionettes (II. The Ascent)

The better half of the two-parter by a mile, although this is undoubtedly one of the weakest two-parters from the band. Moving away from pointless electronic drivel into an actually structured song this strikes the perfect tone that the new album was aiming for: post-apocalypse and post-truth. While it’s not that good of a song by Shikari’s standards, at least it makes up for the previous part.

 

58. Havoc B

Just edging out Havoc A, it just adds a bit more intensity and ferocity over its predecessor, while actually being a bit more controlled and polished almost making the previous ‘Havoc’ seem a little half-cooked.

 

57. Dear Future Historians

The song that leant its name to the official Shikari Fan Club and Rou’s lyrics and essays accompanying book, it’s fairly obvious that this is a bit of a special one for them. And for good reason, it’s personal, downbeat but uplifting towards the end in such a genuine way. The lyrics are some of the best (albeit those that aren’t political), looking towards the human experience that Rou’s begun to write more and more about, with great success. My only complaint about the track is that Rou’s vocals are sometimes a little whiney and scratchy on it, but it still works as a whole.

 

56. The Great Unknown 

As much as I generally think Shikari’s album openers are incredible, this is probably the only one that doesn’t quite hit the mark. It’s just missing some of the usual poetry and flare that I’ve come to expect from the start of one of their albums, the message feels a bit shallow and just doesn’t set the rest of the record up in the way it should do. As an actual song it’s pretty decent but the melody’s a bit repetitive to the point where it’s boring after a few listens.

 

55. Redshift

This feels as though it would fit very well onto The Spark, not just because it’s got a lot of pop sensibilities, but the production styles, lyrical content and vocal qualities are very similar to what the album ended up sounding like. As a result, it’s a decent song but hasn’t got too much uniqueness to it beyond being fairly charming and melodic.

 

 

54. Elegy for Extinction

Never ones to be predictable, Shikari decided to chuck in a symphonic instrumental piece on their latest album, because why not eh? (I swear I’m not Canadian) Obviously there’s better classical music out there, but in the context of the album, this swelling cinematic beauty is really quite something.

 

53. Shinrin-Yoku

A lot of the songs on The Spark tend to blend together a bit, which is great for the album as it creates a really fantastic flow and feel as a solid entity, but the downside is that it leaves some of the weaker songs lacking a bit of personality. While it’s a great song, it just doesn’t do anything too different to the rest of its counterparts.

 

52. There's A Price on Your head

It’s not exactly subtle, but that’s not always a bad thing is it? Again one that suffers a bit from the band rambling a bit in terms of the instrumentals in the middle section which loses the focus and ferocity of it a bit but it still works okay.

 

51. Antwerpen

Ferocious throughout, and thoroughly unintelligible, Antwerpen is another of the tracks that I don’t really listen to outside of the album and often forget it exists. This is mainly because I’m just not sure it stands up outside of the context of the record, but in its place on the tracklist it does an incredible job of carrying the momentum through to the back half.

 

50. Stalemate

On the whole, acoustic does not really suit Enter Shikari, obviously there are some exceptions to this, but it just doesn’t carry the energy and passion that is what makes the band so fantastic. While this is a fairly well written song, it just lacks that energy and passion.

 

49. Thumper

A bit too Drum ‘n’ bass for my liking but that was the idea of Tribalism to be fair so I can’t be too mad, and it still features a pretty good song structure, melody, lyrics and vocals so it’s not all bad.  

 

48. Adieu

The first of their slow songs where Enter Shikari managed to show people that they’re not just a gimmicky electronicore outfit. Although it feels a little dated by now, and they’ve put out better near-ballads since then, it’s still a fantastic track that really comes into its own in the second half.

 

47. System...

This is an example of how you can do a build up to a song without making the first song boring, as well as making a metaphor work rather than just be a bit preachy and weak.

 

46. {The Dreamer's Hotel}

The lead single off the latest album carried the boys into the new era in style, I remember listening to it for the first time on Annie Mac’s hottest records and just thinking ‘And they’re back’. One of the catchiest choruses they’ve ever put out, rousing and aggressive verses and the now famous ‘Pickle your pockets’, Dreamer’s Hotel is another track designed to be belted out loud and moshed to hard.

 

45. Hectic

Enter Shikari have a certain knack for managing to create a sound that’s both apocalyptic and uplifting at the same time, with this song being the epitome of that, saying that it seems like we’re going nowhere yet that there’s still hope. The chiptune instrumentals and bongo-like drums add a nice bit of variety to the song too.

 

44.The Jester

It takes a little while to get into the main meat of the song, but once it gets there it’s worth the wait. Head-bobbing beats and big drops give this one a nice groove and round out a fairly full-on and hectic second half of Common Dreads, carrying the momentum from the first half rather than relying on slow and catchy hooks like a lot of albums do. Another one that works so well live due to the band’s talents for mixing on the fly.

 

43. The King

A fairly generic pop-punk-esque song that has a similar lyrical content to that of Viva La Vida, but hey it’s fun, well written and well produced. I just wish they would have lobbed off that bit at the end.

 

42. Airfield

This was the very first song I heard from the band, which was a bit of a weird introduction to them considering how unlike the rest of their music the cut is. Because it was the first song I heard it has a bit of a special place for me, but even beyond that it’s just a fantastically written track. Managing to be sensitive, rousing, calming but still sonically incredible and replayable so easily. It may not open up pits, but it’s still a fantastic track.

 

41. the pressure's on.

Another more poppy take off the latest album, but this one isn’t so grating as ‘Crossing the Rubicon’. Rou seems to be taking aim at anxiety again, with less ferocity than in ‘Live Outside’, putting himself in the narrator’s seat this time making it feel a lot more personal. If you haven’t heard it already, go listen to the version of this from Moratorium, it’s stunning.

 

40. Rabble Rouser

The rowdiest track off The Spark by a long shot and one of the best ones to hear live, something about that ‘screw screw screw’ just makes you want to dive headfirst into the person next to you. It’s a little repetitive and a bit shallow considering it’s about how awesome Shikari are compared to other bands but hey, it’s a bit of a banger.

 

39. Tribalism

It takes a little while to get where it’s going, but once it does it’s pretty great, telling a story of Shikari and humanity itself, with the odd break to make people dance.

 

38. Waltzing Off The Face Of The Earth (II. Piangevole)

A fantastic closer, summing up all the musical themes and tones of the album into two and a half minutes with beautiful ease.

 

37. Destabilise

‘Rory C what’s your thesis?’ will forever make me piss myself laughing and I have absolutely no idea why, but wow this song is fantastic. Up there in headbanging territory again this cut sounds so polished yet chaotic and unhinged, which is such a difficult style and sound to pull off successfully without losing a bit of edge. As always the boys are on about unity and humanity collaborating and I reckon this is a good a song as any to get people to unite. Imagine trying to do the human pyramids they used to ask for to this song… wow.

 

36. Fanfare For The Conscious Man

I’ve heard a lot of people call this one of the band’s weaker songs and I just don’t see it. It’s political, rousing, has awesome instrumentals and some chantworthy lines ‘we are the world and we are the people’, almost feeling like the quintessential Shikari fight song. If it weren’t so heavy I could see this being the backing for a bunch of cringey movie moments about friendship and unity.

 

35. Quelle Surprise

‘Quelle fucking surprise’ has somehow slipped into my vocabulary without me realising, not that I’m particularly mad. This is another song that includes an often used line amongst fans when talking about current events ‘If you stand for nothing then you will fall for anything’, with a bit less fury than in the song. Another song of pure energy, I’m fairly sure I nearly broke a rib in the pits when this played.

 

34. Stop The Clocks

This will always without fail take me back to the summer, the incessant background synths and keyboards just keep the mood up throughout its runtime and make for a perfect track to dance your heart out to.

 

 

33. No Sssweat

Before the band was outwardly political we had songs like this, which could sort of be perceived to be  politically aimed at corporate greed and sweatshops. No matter what it’s on about, it’s got a fairly unique riff for the band, some good chants ‘You do this every fucking time’ and started the trend of ‘sss’ songs, I reckon we’re due a new one at some point.

 

32. The Paddington Frisk

This feels like the same idea behind it as The Feast, except this actually works. It’s furious and it’s just all of the band’s musical ideas chucked into just over a minute with a fantastic finish.

 

31. OK Time for Plan B

This somehow feels like it would fit well on a videogame soundtrack, or the fight sequence of a cheesy action movie. Something about the driving beat, on and off melodies and vocals, building tension and explosive choruses just lend themselves so well to that sort of feeling. The climactic finish to the song has fairly obvious connotations within this context and just feels so epic.

 

30. Myopia

It’s starting to get a bit difficult to rank these at this point. Strange siren noises have become a bit of a staple of Enter Shikari songs, along with unexpected breakouts into screaming. Myopia completely decimates both. Each time the beat drops into aggression it feels like a punch in the stomach and makes it impossible not to do ‘bass face’. Not to mention this song has the absolutely screamable ‘They’re living in denial, of science’, which just scores more points.

 

29. Jonny Sniper

The NME once called this song one of the worst singles ever written, and sure it’s a little silly and disjointed but honestly that’s one of the stupidest statements ever made. Typical of Take To The Skies, The Jester doesn’t take itself too seriously but still manages to be sensitive and a bit deeper than some of the other cuts on the album. Musically it’s got quite a few layers, with some really nice clean vocals mixed with some growls and shouts that I’d die to hear on some newer material.

 

28. The Appeal & The Mindsweep I

I would argue that Enter Shikari’s album openers are consistently some of the best out there, and this is no exception. Introducing the ideas and themes behind the album, setting up slowly and melodically before descending into beautifully organised chaos. This song feels exactly like an Enter Shikari concert, high energy, aggressive, but still thoughtful and meaningful.

 

27. Search Party

The flow on A Flash Flood of Colour is impeccable, with Search Party slotting in perfectly between ‘Sssnakepit’ and ‘Arguing With Thermometers’, calming the energy down a bit without getting too soft or tame for too long.

 

26. T.I.N.A.

Striking a nice balance between new and old T.I.N.A. manages to bring some of the old intensity, speed and electronics from earlier albums with the pop sensibilities of the later work. The result is a catchy, clever and fun anthem with a fantastic hook.

 

25. Sssnakepit

Rou once said this song was enough to make you punch a Gibbon in the face, and if you’d place one in front of me with this as backing, I think you’d find he’s right. When someone listens to modern Enter Shikari and says they’re not too heavy, this is the song I play to show them what they’re capable of. Heavily leaning into both their metal and electronic influences, while maintaining the catchy-ish chorus and the ‘We’re nice guys until we’re not’ breakdown being just face-melting, Sssnakepit is an incredible song.

 

24. Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour

One of the fan favourites consistently, mainly due to that classic blend of ferocious screaming sections, melodic slower bridges and repetitive synths and beats. A track that feels like it’s in 3 parts with each blending so perfectly together and creating a truly all-encompassing and immersive experience. I’d argue this was one of their first truly great songs which has stood the test of time very well.

 

23. Radiate

The singles can be a hit or a miss, but this is definitely the former, it goes hard. Nuff said.

 

22. Waltzing Off The Face of The Earth (I. Crescendo)

By far the best two-parter on the album, summing up the entire concept behind the album: Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible, and it’s reflected in the music. Rou really stepped up to the plate in terms of production on this, mastering the apocalyptic and doom-filled atmosphere that works so incredibly well for them.

 

21. Gandhi Mate, Gandhi

A song that starts with an anti-capitalist speech before descending into utter madness in a blend of wailing siren beats, great drumming from Rob and some of the best lyrics in any ES song. ‘Yabadaba-do one son’, ‘See if we keep them silent, they’ll resort to violence and that’s how we criminalise change’ and the titular ‘Gandhi Mate, Gandhi’ just make this one of the most iconic records the band’s ever put out.

 

20. Constellations

From an album as ferocious as A Flash Flood Of Colour it seems strange that one of the bands most beautiful songs can be found in its tracklist. Yet here we are, Constellations is heartfelt, meaningful, beautiful and weirdly warming. I heard an acoustic version of this live once and it was one of the most stunning things I’ve heard, so much so that I’m surprised they didn’t release an acoustic version on their recent covers album.

 

19. No Sleep Tonight

Yet another absolutely anthemic tune from Common Dreads (I’m noticing a bit of a pattern here), one that doesn’t have any perceived deeper meaning but is just an out-and-out banger from front to back. The key change about 3 and a half minutes in is such a subtle but incredible choice that just allows the song to keep its legs for a bit longer without getting tired. Fantastic tune.

 

18. Step up

This feels like such a powerful call to arms, which is exactly what it is, asking the listener to get involved and take a stand against the injustices in the world. It’s a bit refreshing to hear an artist ask for action rather than just pointing out that there’s an issue that someone somewhere should do something about.

 

17. Arguing With Thermometers

What an absolute mammoth of a song, full on from start to finish and enough to get an earthquake started in the pits. Rou’s back on about the environment and he’s angry, ‘That’s the sound of another door shutting in the face of progress’ has become one of the band’s simplest but best and most iconic lines, not to mention most catchy.

 

16. Undercover Agents

I’ve slagged off the slow songs from the Spark a bit much on this list, but when this exists on the same record it’s hard not to. Everything I want a Shikari ballad to be, slow and meaningful but still having energy, interesting instrumentation and production. It’s not an easy task to make a somewhat melancholic song still make you bounce along to the beat, but they’ve done it on this one.

 

 

15. Return To Energiser

An absolutely brutal introduction that mellows out as the song goes on, flipping the script from a lot of Shikari songs in a very welcome breath of fresh air. This variation on the regular song structure goes a long way and makes the song just a bit different, not to mention the actual content of the song is absolutely fantastic.

 

14. The Sights

I think this is probably one of the most underrated songs from the band’s back catalogue. It has a similar feel to Live Outside, but just has a bit more drive to it, although admittedly it doesn’t quite capture the triumphant feel Live Outside does. As the first proper song on the Spark, it’s one hell of a way to kick off the record and really shows that the band are going in a different direction, for better or for worse.

 

13. Pack of Thieves

This one always sticks in my mind for a day or two after I play it, always creeping back into the back of my mind when I’m least expecting. Despite this, I can honestly say I don’t really know what it’s about, I just enjoy the furious energy at which it comes at me. My one complaint would be the section around the three minute mark ruins the flow a bit.

 

12. Take My Country Back

With such a gentle intro the ferocious chorus whips your head back with force, but thank fuck it does. There’s quite a lot of songs that try to tackle Brexit politics and xenophobia without much success, but this manages to hit the nail on the head with such witty lyrics and clever metaphors, and it’s a banger to boot.

 

11. Live Outside

Their second most streamed song on Spotify, probably one of their most accessible and popular tracks of the modern era. An anthem against anxiety, as Rou so delicately puts it ‘Kicking anxiety in the teeth’, something a lot of us can relate to in the covid era. Some criticise the band for going too poppy and soft on their newer material, and while I can’t lie and say I don’t miss them putting out some heavier material, as long as the songs are as good as this I don’t know how anyone can complain. This is usually what the band end their sets off with and what a way to leave a lasting impression on a crowd

 

10. Sorry, You're not A Winner

The clap song, the song that started it all for the band and the one that probably divides the fans the most. As much as I understand it’s overplayed, a bit simplistic, not very deep and fairly stupid in terms of the lyrics, I can’t help but just love it.

 

9.  ...Meltdown

This is so high up purely for the ‘system meltdown’ drop which is just incredible and such a powerful start to what’s often seen as the band’s best album. From there the track just keeps going, the momentum not dropping for a second through the guise of fantastic lyrics, interesting and new sounds for the band, classic group chants and fantastic production. Additionally, Meltdown has the signature Shikari theme of contesting hope and despair which they’ve managed to perfect to a tee by now.

 

8. Solidarity

This is just an incredible song, absolutely brutal yet melodic and catchy and enough to make you flick the volume to full and let the neighbours know to just suck it up and get on with it.

 

7. Anaesthetist

Probably the most hard to pronounce of the all the group’s songs, not one that you’d immediately imagine would be good to be screaming at a concert surrounded by a thousand sweaty bodies, it’s also one of the most anthemic and iconic. On the shorter side in terms of tracklength, Anaesthetist is a call to protect the NHS, and does so with an almighty bang, combining powerful and clever lyrical interludes with headbang-inducing breakdowns and riffs. There’s a reason they play this at nearly every show.

 

6. The Last Garrison

Back with that signature blend of hope and loss, showing that perfect use of a quiet verse with a loud aggressive bridge, The Last Garrison is stupidly catchy but still a genuinely fantastic track. I’ve not thought into it too much as to the deeper meaning purely because whenever it comes on I just get bombarded by the overwhelming instrumentals and vocals. Yet it knows when to be minimal, lulling you into a false sense of security before bursting back into a surge of energy. If this gets played live you know you’re in for a good gig.

 

5. Mothership

I can’t think of many other songs that have such an incredible introduction as Mothership, especially not to then just keeping topping it over and over again throughout the song. Enter Shikari concerts are renowned for their high energy and this song is one guaranteed to bring that, along with gianormous chants of ‘Go tell all your friends that this is the end’. The band set out to write a chilling UFO-themed sci-fi banger and they bloody well made it.

 

4. Labyrinth

Another of my personal favourites, just something about the electronics sounds so urgent and that first shrieking growl feels so depraved and desperate. Not to mention the fact that that central melody is incredibly catchy, enough to stick around in your mind all day and bring back that horrifying ‘We’ll break the walls’. Although this is a far cry from what the group would make nowadays, it’s a fantastic song that I don’t think gets enough credit and love.

 

3. The One True Colour

Before I decided not to include remixes on this list I was so tempted to include the Keeno remix of this song off The Mindsweep: Hospitalised as it takes a fairly aggressive song and makes it mellow and beautiful. Alas, I didn’t, but this song is incredible in its own right, less obviously beautiful but has this feeling of tranquil chaos and almost like you’re picking yourself up after being knocked back. Definitely one of the standouts from The Mindsweep, which itself is an incredible album. This cut has everything, screams, clean vocals, electronics, metal elements, beautiful swelling bridges, it’s a perfect 10.

 

2. Satellites**

One of my absolute personal favourites, not just from the band’s discography but in general, Satellites was written originally about the isolating feelings of the LGBT+ community but was fortunate enough to coincide nicely with similar feelings due to Covid-19. An incredibly uplifting, moving, well written and just incredible song, Satellites is undoubtedly one of the band’s best. On the more mainstream side of their discography, they still manage to keep it sonically interesting enough to sustain repeat plays and longevity in the gigs.

 

1. Juggernauts

When push comes to shove, I have to say that this is Enter Shikari’s best song, although it is incredibly close. I’m not sure what it is about this song that just never fails to put a smile on my face and make me want to run into a crowd of people and mosh until I’m black and blue and sweating from every single pore. The usual calls for unity and trying to alert everyone of the issues that humanity’s facing are here, ‘I know that we’ve still got time’ gives a bit of hope to the usual apocalyptic feeling that comes when talking about humanity’s doom. It’s also the song that’s featured in this absolutely legendary video.

 

I’ve realised that this article has gone on a bit long, so if you’ve made it down this far, thank you very much for sticking around. 

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