Florence + The Machine - 'Everybody Scream'
Florence Welch has always walked the line between the celestial and the chaotic, but with her latest title track, she dives headfirst into the storm.
The singer’s new title track opens with an ethereal vocal harmony which slowly descends into upheaval.
As the bass takes over beautiful vocals turn into melodic screams in a poetic exploration of the parasocial pressure between artist and audience. It’s compelling, haunting, and acutely honest.
The lyrics weave a theatrical tapestry with many different threads to unravel.
“I break down, get up, do it all again/ Because it’s never enough and she makes me feel loved,” is tangled in hidden meaning. We never learn who “she” is. It could be a friend, an audience, a lover but whoever “she” is, she represents something intoxicating and consuming. The line captures a cycle of burnout and renewal. Florence collapses under the weight of perfection, only to rise again. The love she feels is real, yet it's also conditional, demanding performance, and to put herself front and centre in order to impress, over and over again.
Additionally, the chorus’s chanting is captivating and intense - perfectly crafted for the energy of a live performance.
After needing lifesaving surgery on the Dance Fever Tour, Florence’s recovery took her down the path of spiritual mysticism, witchcraft and folk horror as she felt the limits of her body and explored what it means to be “healed.”
The album treads through womanhood, partnership, aging and dying; exposing the murky in the mundane - marking a new era in Florence’s music evolution.
Florence Welch wrote and produced the album over the past two years with a close-knit circle of collaborators including Mark Bowenof IDLES - who appears in the video for ‘Everybody Scream’ - Aaron Dessner and Mitski.
“Everybody Scream” hits like a dark incantation; commanding, cinematic, and deeply evocative. It blends gothic ritual with pop drama and finds the upmost beauty in chaos.
The singer hasn’t simply returned to the music scene, she’s summoned her fans back like a spell.
Words by Hollie Carr
