Photos: Karen Goldman

SAN FRANCISCO — No one Enter Shikari song is easy to describe; there are no math rock tunes, dance rock numbers, EDM bangers, punk scorchers or thrash screamers. That’s because the London quartet typically includes three or more genres in each one, with jazz, drum and bass and electronica also in the mix. This made Enter Shikari the most unique, by far, of four hard rock and punk bands at Slim’s Wednesday as part of the Noise Pop Music Festival.

Dapper-dressed singer Rou Reynolds and his bandmates, Chris Batten, Rob Rolfe and Rory Clewlow, kept the audience on its feet, both literally and figuratively, as a small sea of moshing fans opened up halfway through Enter Shikari’s set and grew in intensity through to the end. The band kicked things with with “The Sights,” one of the most pop-friendly, melodic songs off 2017’s The Spark, which also happens to be its most accessible album to pop fans. Next the quartet changed course with “Solidarity,” a more traditional Shikari song off 2009’s Common Dreads. And in this case, traditional means “not at all ordinary.” The song starts with an electronica intro before diving into heavy guitar-led scream-along. That began more than an hour of genre-swerving that carried on from song to song.

“We control pitch, rhythm and light to control your emotions,” Reynolds declared before diving into “Anything Can Happen In the Next Half Hour…” off 2007’s Take to the Skies. It’s a very melodic screamo song; it’s the best description I’ve got for it. Reynolds, who may subscribe to heavier forms of music but whose hair is definitely a Flock of Seagulls fan, next led the band to another newer song, the politically charged “Take My Country Back.” A moody, soft intro that included Reynolds using his jazz education by playing some trumpet, quickly morphed into a ska-punk song.

Enter Shakiri

The following song, “The Last Garrison,” had so many shifts that at points it was a Killers-esque dance-rock tune (if it was possible to dance, you’d better believe this band was dancing). Hard-core screamo song “Arguing With Thermometers” and the following “Rabble Rouser” received some of the most enthusiastic responses of the evening. The latter included the first of two times guitarist Clewlow would go crowdsurfing, instrument in hand.

The one calm moment came during new tune “Airfield,” which Reynolds dedicated to “anyone who has lived through the worst day of their life.” That quickly led into more craziness in the form of “Anesthetist,” a sped-up four-song medley and another scream-heavy track, “Zzzonked.” A brief encore included new fan favorite “Live Outside.”

Milk Teeth

Enter Shikari were preceded by three other hard rock and punk bands. The best showing came from fellow Englanders and Black Flag-lovers Milk Teeth, who showed much more energy than should be expected from the second band on any lineup. Becky Blomfield, Billy Hutton, Chris Webb and Oli Holbrook were more than proficient at their instruments. Holbrook, the drummer, and Webb, a guitarist, were especially entertaining to watch; the former drumming and making facial expressions as if he were possessed and the latter bouncing around the stage menacingly. But every member had a unique stage presence. The performance was raucous, the lyrics to all of the songs indecipherable, and all-around fun.

“I hear Girlpool is also playing tonight, which is awesome, and I’m happy that you came here instead,” Blomfield declared.

Toronto rock quartet Single Mothers split the difference between punk and Kasabian during their 30-minute set, with singer Andrew Thomson shout-singing lines as if they were commands or a demand for action. He gesticulated, pointed, struck rock poses and shimmied around the Slim’s stage during the 10-song set that included highlights “Undercover” and “Hell (Is My Backup Plan).”

Single Mothers perform at Slim’s in San Francisco Feb 21, 2018 during Noise Pop.

Bay Area rock trio Long Knives opened the show with crunchy guitar lines, heavy drum fills and a lot of fast power chord strumming, showing that the band is a child of the ’90s alt-rock family. Singer-guitarist Kris Moya and bandmates were appreciative of the early arrivers, and interested in doing more than playing rock music: “We all know how fucked up life is, but that doesn’t give us an excuse to treat each other other like shit. Take care of each other,” Moya said.

Follow Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter and RomiTheWriter.Tumblr.com. Follow photographer Karen Goldman at Twitter.com/Xposure120 and Instagram.com/XposureArts.