If your life has felt the lack of traipsing English singers clad in chiffon, have no fear: Florence + the Machine are back.
With Aug. 23’s formidable new single “What the Water Gave Me,” the band tests listeners’ familiarity with art, literary knowledge and sunny disposition.
The track was produced by Paul Epworth, a man who’s had a pretty decent 2011 thus far. Riding high from his work behind the scenes of record-smashers like Adele’s “21” and Friendly Fire’s “Pala,” Epworth told BBC 6Music that Flo & Co.’s forthcoming second album is “a lot less indie and a lot more soul.” This slight change in direction is evident from the get-go in the song’s sound and lyrical allusions alike.
The title references the trippy, surrealistic Frida Kahlo painting of the same name (really, Google that thing). The track is dark and melodic, full of Hammond organs, spooky incantations and crashing cymbals. And it’s sort of great.
Florence Welch has said she’s artistically interested in things that are overwhelming. She explains that this song is for one of nature’s most immense forces, the water. It’s also about individuals who have lost their lives trying to rescue loved ones from drowning. Eeek.
If I haven’t lost you yet (or, better yet, if you’re more into it), there’s more to unpack. Virginia Woolf also makes it into the chorus when Flo sings, “Lay me down/Let the only sound be the overflow/Pockets full of stones.” In 1941, dearest Virginia filled her overcoat pockets with rocks and drowned herself in the Ouse River near her home in Sussex, England, when she feared she was going crazy again. Simply put: Flo’s got a magic way with words.
I was hooked on the song from the snappy, moody intro, which soon showcases a more restrained vocal from Florence. Let’s face it – there aren’t a ton of lukewarm Florence fans out there. If you hate the Machine, it’s probably because you think Flo’s voice sounds like someone stomped on a Canada goose’s foot with a steel-toed boot. I do see your point there, but after her debut album “Lungs,” we’ve seen her reel in her runaway howls a bit.
Since her cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” on this summer’s star-studded tribute album “Rave On Buddy Holly,” it seems Florence has been less pop, more soul. Even though she still has her trademark sounds and grand finale in “What the Water Gave Me,” it’s definitely more controlled than the Grammy-nominated “Lungs.” I like what this means for the new album, and Flo herself told BBC Radio 1 she’s still learning how to sing.
“I’m learning restraint. When I first started singing, I just used to scream all the time. When I first played in pubs and clubs with just an electric guitar, it was the only way to get people to pay attention, but I think I’ve got more control now having performed a lot more. I’m still screaming at some points though.”
The song itself just feels big, but never so big that it crumples under its own weight. Its impressive instrumentation and strong melody bode well for their second album. Recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in St. John’s Wood, London, Florence + the Machine’s new album is set to drop on Nov. 7.
