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Enter Shikari: The Score :: Nu-rave-metal-punks Enter Shikari cover the hardcore bases

By Joshua Glazer   Photography by Teppei

02/19/08 :: URB 152

“Throughout the history of dance culture, ‘hardcore’ designates those scenes where druggy hedonism and underclass desperation combine with a commitment to the physicality of dance and a no-nonsense approach to making music.”

In his definitive treatise on UK rave culture, 1998’s Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture, author Simon Reynolds pressed forth the opinion that “hardcore scenes in dance culture are the real creative motor of the music.” Reynolds was describing the split the UK rave scene experienced in the early ‘90s, between the musical sophistication of Detroit techno and other American dance styles and the unabashed mania of European “’Ardcore.” It wasn’t the first time the word was used in a similar manner. Like punk rock’s devolution from urbane artsy angst to unadulterated suburban aggression—hardcore has always been derided as the lesser, more aggressively simplistic and more proletariat version of a musical style (while usually selling more records in the process). For the new-rave hipsters that have captivated the British and American music and style press over the last 18 months, Enter Shikari is exactly the band The Klaxons should be afraid of.

“It’s just that we didn’t sound anything like it,” explains bassist Chris Batten, when asked about the “new-rave” tag. “Not like The Klaxons or any of the other bands. We ran heavily from it.”

And he’s right. Only on the most superficial level does Enter Shikari sound anything like The Klaxons—guitar driven rock songs garnished with dance music affects. It’s one thing to wave glowsticks and turn ’90s dance pop tunes into ’00s indie pop tunes. It’s another to combine thrashing guitar riffage and throat shredding vocals with hands-in-the-air trance sequencing and pummeling drum & bass breakdowns. The Klaxons’ drummer never came out from behind the kit to “have a bit of a dance,” like Enter Shikari drummer Rob Rolfe is apt to do during one of the strictly sequenced portions of their live show, which has been universally acclaimed as one of the most intense in British music.

“It breaks up the show and entertains the audience,” he continues. “It’s an opportunity to piss about and act like dicks and not take ourselves too seriously.”

Not that Enter Shikari always has the best time onstage. A recent show at Hollywood’s Troubadour found the half-empty hall playing host to a contingent of devoted fans who did their best to thrash about the spacious floor while an equal-sized set of industry wanks, anglophiles and curious onlookers stood back by the bar (half left as soon as they realized ES has as much chance of making the cover of NME as System of a Down).   

“They’re either really into it or really, really not,” laughs Rolfe. “There’s some people coming along saying, ‘You’re ruining it. You’re ruining the genre. What do you think you’re doing?’”