THE ENEMY
SHARE THE NEW SINGLE ‘THE BOXER’ - LISTEN HERE
FROM THE NEW ALBUM ‘SOCIAL DISGUISES’, OUT FEBRUARY 20TH - PRE-ORDER HERE
FROM THE NEW ALBUM ‘SOCIAL DISGUISES’, OUT FEBRUARY 20TH - PRE-ORDER HERE
Photo by Emilie Cotterill
2026 will be the year in which The Enemy make a long-awaited comeback with the February 20th release of their new album ‘Social Disguises’ - their first in more than a decade. Today they come into the year fighting as they preview the record with their new single ‘The Boxer’.
‘The Boxer’ finds The Enemy at their full-blooded best, as thunderous rhythms, a vehement main riff and Tom Clarke’s vitriolic vocals craft an hypnotic intensity. While it’s the story of a man whose glory days are behind him, it’s also a metaphor for more universal experiences - particularly the realisation that our futures can always change for the better if we can keep striving and battling for something more.
Tom Clarke says, “‘The Boxer’ is about a fictional character, but it's an observation about regret and how anxiety can stop us achieving things we want to in life. It's about fear holding us back, and how that can destroy who we are. We tried to achieve an industrial weight to the sound, and a monotony to the composition to reflect the sentiment of being stuck.”
‘The Boxer’ plus the recent singles ‘Not Going Your Way’ and ‘Trouble’ will also feature on the upcoming ‘Social Disguises’, which was produced by their long-term collaborator Matt Terry (‘40 Days and 40 Nights’ and ‘No Time For Tears’). This new era in The Enemy got underway with the reunion of their original line-up late in 2022. Never ones to do things by halves, the trio were fiercely committed to making sure that a new record equalled the standard of their breakthrough with their hit-packed, Platinum-certified #1 debut album ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’. And part of the puzzle towards achieving that was one of dogged commitment: its songs are drawn from 90 demos that they have written since reforming.
It’s a comeback which is being embraced by fans. Last autumn’s UK headline tour was entirely sold-out, a run of dates which the band have declared to be one of their best ever tours. Meanwhile the new songs have been celebrated by media as well as audiences, with recent support including NME, Radio X, This Feeling’s Video of the Week, Shiiine On’s Track of the Week, Live4Ever, Stereoboard, XS Noize and Songbird HQ.
The ‘Social Disguises’ album is available to pre-order HERE. The must-have physical format is a signed double-vinyl (one yellow, one orange) which extends the album to twenty tracks. Other formats include black vinyl, orange vinyl, regular CD, deluxe CD and cassette. All bundles purchased from the band’s official store add a bonus acoustic CD.
The Enemy will be back on stage throughout 2026. Summer festival dates at Tramlines, Y NOT? and Victorious are already confirmed, as is a major autumn arena tour as very special guests to Ocean Colour Scene. Their live schedule so far runs as follows:
JULY
26th - Tramlines
30th - Aug 2nd - Y NOT? Festival
AUGUST
30th - Victorious Festival
NOVEMBER - VERY SPECIAL GUESTS TO OCEAN COLOUR SCENE
21st - Glasgow, OVO Hydro
27th - Bradford, Live
28th - Manchester, AO Arena
30th - Newcastle, City Hall
DECEMBER - VERY SPECIAL GUESTS TO OCEAN COLOUR SCENE
1st - Derby, Vaillant Live
3rd - Swansea, Arena
4th - Bournemouth, International Centre
7th - Plymouth, Pavilions
8th - Brighton, Centre
9th - London, The O2
11th - Bristol, Prospect Building: Studio
12th - Birmingham, bp pulse LIVE
Follow The Enemy:
Spotify | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
‘The Boxer’ finds The Enemy at their full-blooded best, as thunderous rhythms, a vehement main riff and Tom Clarke’s vitriolic vocals craft an hypnotic intensity. While it’s the story of a man whose glory days are behind him, it’s also a metaphor for more universal experiences - particularly the realisation that our futures can always change for the better if we can keep striving and battling for something more.
Tom Clarke says, “‘The Boxer’ is about a fictional character, but it's an observation about regret and how anxiety can stop us achieving things we want to in life. It's about fear holding us back, and how that can destroy who we are. We tried to achieve an industrial weight to the sound, and a monotony to the composition to reflect the sentiment of being stuck.”
‘The Boxer’ plus the recent singles ‘Not Going Your Way’ and ‘Trouble’ will also feature on the upcoming ‘Social Disguises’, which was produced by their long-term collaborator Matt Terry (‘40 Days and 40 Nights’ and ‘No Time For Tears’). This new era in The Enemy got underway with the reunion of their original line-up late in 2022. Never ones to do things by halves, the trio were fiercely committed to making sure that a new record equalled the standard of their breakthrough with their hit-packed, Platinum-certified #1 debut album ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’. And part of the puzzle towards achieving that was one of dogged commitment: its songs are drawn from 90 demos that they have written since reforming.
It’s a comeback which is being embraced by fans. Last autumn’s UK headline tour was entirely sold-out, a run of dates which the band have declared to be one of their best ever tours. Meanwhile the new songs have been celebrated by media as well as audiences, with recent support including NME, Radio X, This Feeling’s Video of the Week, Shiiine On’s Track of the Week, Live4Ever, Stereoboard, XS Noize and Songbird HQ.
The ‘Social Disguises’ album is available to pre-order HERE. The must-have physical format is a signed double-vinyl (one yellow, one orange) which extends the album to twenty tracks. Other formats include black vinyl, orange vinyl, regular CD, deluxe CD and cassette. All bundles purchased from the band’s official store add a bonus acoustic CD.
The Enemy will be back on stage throughout 2026. Summer festival dates at Tramlines, Y NOT? and Victorious are already confirmed, as is a major autumn arena tour as very special guests to Ocean Colour Scene. Their live schedule so far runs as follows:
JULY
26th - Tramlines
30th - Aug 2nd - Y NOT? Festival
AUGUST
30th - Victorious Festival
NOVEMBER - VERY SPECIAL GUESTS TO OCEAN COLOUR SCENE
21st - Glasgow, OVO Hydro
27th - Bradford, Live
28th - Manchester, AO Arena
30th - Newcastle, City Hall
DECEMBER - VERY SPECIAL GUESTS TO OCEAN COLOUR SCENE
1st - Derby, Vaillant Live
3rd - Swansea, Arena
4th - Bournemouth, International Centre
7th - Plymouth, Pavilions
8th - Brighton, Centre
9th - London, The O2
11th - Bristol, Prospect Building: Studio
12th - Birmingham, bp pulse LIVE
Follow The Enemy:
Spotify | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Artwork by Aly Lloyd
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