After a decade away, The Enemy return with Social Disguises this February 20, their first album since 2015’s It’s Automatic. Time has passed, perspectives have shifted, but the trio’s signature directness, momentum, and emotional clarity haven’t skipped a beat.
Frontman Tom Clarke says the band sifted through roughly 90 demos before landing on the final tracks, and that meticulous process shows. Social Disguises is pared back and immediate, carrying the directness of The Enemy’s early work while wearing a decade of experience like a second skin.
Much of the album is driven by frustration and regret, but it does so with neither whine nor wallow. Opener ‘The Boxer’ sketches a life stalled by routine and compromised ambition, its industrial-tinged heft underpinning lyrics about being “a shadow of a man.” It makes for a weighty introduction, even if the album’s sharper blows are still to come. Dissatisfaction courses through songs about stalled ambition, emotional misfires, or the creeping realisation that time isn’t on your side.
Social Disguises balances its reflective weight with drive, proving that a measure of frustration can be just as much a fuel for the song as melody or riff. ‘Not Going Your Way’ is a brisk, hook-forward return to form, with punchy rhythms and anthemic chorus that recall the band’s early highs. ‘The Last Time’ matches it stride for stride, slipping between jangly indie pop and a taut, punky thump with confidence and economy.
That angst and energy spills into the album’s rougher edges, where jagged riffs and clipped guitars turn frustration into full-on bite. ‘Controversial’ rattles along with raw, jerky guitar energy, while ‘Serious’ sticks to clipped riffs, repetition, and attitude, taking swipes at the chronically miserable. These tracks foreground posture and intent, underscoring that this isn’t a softened or overly reflective return.
Lyrically, Clarke blends reflection and observation, touching on his adult autism diagnosis, anxiety, miscommunication, and the dizzying pace of cultural change. The title track crystallises this vision, garage-rock swagger carrying a refusal to keep pretending everything’s fine.
Closing with the simmering, mantra-like refrain of “Finishing Line,” Social Disguises winds down with meditative momentum. By the time the closing track fades, the album has made its point: this is a band channeling anger, frustration, and experience into every track; and a decade away feels more than justified.
VERDICT:
Social Disguises is available to pre-order now from the band’s official store (HERE), with exclusive editions including a signed 20-track vinyl, orange vinyl, cassette, and ultra-limited test pressings, alongside standard and deluxe CD versions.
