Florence and the Machine recently came out with three singles: “King”, “Heaven is Here”, and “My Love” (in order of release), for their fifth studio album Dance Fever, set to release on May 13th of this year. As a life-long fan of the band, this news was not only shocking but extremely exciting. I began coming up with theories about the album’s release when “King” came out.
To celebrate one of my favorite bands coming out with a new album, here are some of my favorite moments from each single released so far!
The entire first verse of “King” has my heart:
We argue in the kitchen about whether to have children
About the world ending and the scale of my ambition
And how much is art really worth
The very thing you’re best at is the thing that hurts the most
But you need your rotten heart, your dazzling pain like diamond rings
You need to go to war to find material to sing
I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king
I need my golden crown of sorrow, my bloody sword to swing
My empty halls to echo with grand self-mythology
The repetition of “I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king” in the chorus and throughout the song really plays with gender and the struggles of womanhood. The second verse also steals my heart for this same reason:
But a woman is a changeling, always shifting shape
Just when you think you have it figured out
Something new begins to take
What strangе claws are these scratching at my skin
I nеver knew my killer would be coming from within
In “Heaven is Here”, the monologue at the end and the breathing noises pair well with “King” like butter on toast, cheese on crackers. But my favorite lines have to be:
And all of the fish, let them flounder
I went to the water, drank every drop
I’ll turn your sea to a desert
More catholic taste than the Devil
All gilded and golden, yes, I’m your girl
Hell, if it glitters, I’m going
Florence and the Machine are known for their religious imagery and their water imagery, which pair well together when thinking about baptisms, renewals, rebirthing, which cyclically pair well with the concept of motherhood.
In the most recent release, we get a turn in beat. Hence why the album must be called Dance Fever. The opening lines read:
I was always able to write my way out
Song always made sense to me
Now I find that when I look down
Every page is empty
This moment feels vulnerable, especially for other writers listening.
Florence made comments about the pandemic and its effect on her when “Heaven is Here” was released, and I feel as though this song is of course a reflection of some of the struggles a lot of us went through, mostly alone, during the height of the pandemic last year.
And please, let’s not forget the music videos. If you haven’t already, I recommend listening to all of these songs, and watching their videos, on repeat until the album comes out on May 13th.