Florence + The Machine

Florence + the Machine has released “Free,” the upbeat fourth single from their forthcoming album, Dance Fever, which will arrive on May 13. The accompanying video, directed by frequent collaborator Autumn de Wilde, begins with actor Bill Nighy who plays the role of Florence’s anxiety. Nighy acts as a preoccupied shadow in the background following Florence throughout the video, gradually fading and more in the background at certain points in the video — but ever-present. [embedded content][embedded content] “Free” follows three other singles that have been released from her forthcoming album including “My Love,” “King” and “Heaven Is Here. Each of these songs arrived alongside accompanying videos directed by de Wilde and feature choreography by Ryan Heffington. Dance Fever was recorde...

For over a month, Florence + The Machine has slowly released songs with the anticipation that her first new album in years would be on the way. On Thursday, Welch finally revealed the details for Dance Fever, and shared another one of its tracks, “My Love.” [embedded content][embedded content] The fifth studio record by the rock vocalist is set to release May 13. Dance Fever was produced by Welch, Jack Antonoff, and Dave Bayley of Glass Animals, and is available for pre-order. Dance Fever was recorded in London during the pandemic, and it conjures the freedoms that Welch missed most during lockdown and her hope for a return to normalcy. Its tracks  nod to dance, folk, and ’70s Iggy Pop, while Welch describes it as “Nick Cave at the club.” Further drawing from her c...

A few weeks after releasing their first proper new track in years (they did record a song for Cruella last year), Florence + The Machine are back with yet another new one in “Heaven Is Here.” [embedded content][embedded content] The previously unveiled “King,” was the group’s first since 2018 and was produced by Grammy-award-winning producer Jack Antonoff. The videos for both new tracks were directed by Autumn de Wilde. Here’s what Welch wrote on her Instagram about “Heaven Is Here”: “‘Heaven is Here’ was the first song I wrote in lockdown after an extended period of not being able to get to the studio. I wanted to make something monstrous. And this clamour of joy, fury and grief was the first thing that came out. “With dance studios also shut it was my dream to one day create choreog...

Florence Welch has finally returned! In her first proper release since 2018 (she last released a song for the Cruella film in 2021 and an outtake in 2020), Florence + the Machine unveiled “King” on Wednesday. [embedded content][embedded content] The “King” video was directed by Autumn de Wilde. The song reflects on Florence Welch’s femininity and her recent subverting of expectations as a woman in music. She triggers instant chills by powerfully declaring: “I am no mother /  I am no bride / I am king.” “As an artist, I never actually thought about my gender that much,” Welch said. “I just got on with it. I was as good as the men and I just went out there and matched them every time. But now, thinking about being a woman in my 30s and the future, I suddenly feel this tearing of my iden...