The Hertfordshire rock band have finally dropped new single Stop The Clocks, eight months after starting to play it live and after multiple pleas from fans to give it an official release.

Enter Shikari’s 2017 album The Spark ushered in a new era for the band, evolving their sound into more of an electro-pop and leaving behind the screams on the earlier albums. Vocalist Rou Reynolds, who has always written politically charged records, found himself anxious with the state of the world in 2016 and wrote The Spark accordingly. He has often been open about his struggles with his mental health, and Stop The Clocks continues this trend. As Reynolds says:

2018 was the first full year in Enter Shikari’s professional career in which we didn’t release any new music. We loved how The Spark was connecting with people and wanted to give the album its rightful breathing space, but, not wanting to be dormant, we began a new track towards the end of the year. Anyone who has seen us live recently will have heard ‘Stop The Clocks’ – it’s an upbeat post-punk pop track about the joys of human connection. When someone is open and honest about their vulnerabilities, others can connect with them, and then all of us can feel stronger and more comfortable. It conveys the relief, warmth and freeing nature of the normalisation of mental health struggles, following decades of stigmatism. A flickering flame of positivity in these difficult and regressive times.

An extension of The Spark, Stop The Clocks has a similar sound and feel, and it’s no surprise the song has been a success with fans prior to its release.

Enter Shikari will be playing four separate sets across Reading and Leeds this month, as well as starting a US tour in September.