Album number six finds Florence Welch on meditative, but combative form.

Florence Welch and her band occupy a rare level of stratosphere for a female artist from the UK. Globally adored, able to collaborate with anyone that she wants to, able to put out anything that she wants. Who else has achieved this level of fame and critical praise in the last forty years? Kate Bush? Adele? Dua Lipa? Not many.

‘Everybody Scream’ was a bold choice of comeback single, but a typically assured and mature piece. The narrative threads extend beyond this track and into the album as a whole. Being on stage is challenging, demanding, all consuming – but what compares to having an audience screaming your name? The role of a woman is something that the band and her have explored previously but it is even more front and centre here. The idea of woman as witch, as Earth Mother weave in and out. This is one of six tracks involving Mark Bowen from Idles as co-writer and producer. The in demand Aaron Dessner from the National provides support on a couple of tracks. There are a range of producers on the remaining tracks including one with the brilliant Mitski at the helm, ‘Buckle.’

‘One of The Greats’ was an equally startling single. Simplistic, yet epic. Quiet, yet utterly powerful. The patriarchy comes under fire, “It must be nice to be a man and make boring music just because you can.” Ultimately though this is about the effort of Florence Welch pulling herself back together after emergency surgery in 2023 for an ectopic pregnancy. The effort of being a woman in the music business and everything being instantly harder, the pressures more intense.

“Too feminine to function
A pile of bodies and a trail of destruction
I will let the light in, I will let some love in
I will be happy, it will be perfect”

These themes return strongly later in ‘Music by Men.’

‘Witch Dance’ explores how close she came to death:

“Open my legs, lie down with death
We kiss, we sigh, we sweat
His blackberry mouth stains my nightgown
I pull him close
Wrap my legs around and it tastes like life”

Most recent single ‘Sympathy Magic’ is another impressive construction. A soulful and uplifting chorus.

‘Kraken’ positions Florence as some kind of monster where men are concerned, capable of consuming them:

“Creature from the deep, do I haunt you in your sleep?
My tentacles so tender, as I caress your cheek
Did you know how big I would become?”

She considers how so many of her peers have fallen along the way despite the huge potential they had. On some level she seems to question why she has been able to carry on and be so successful.

This a well focused album. It impresses, but without ever being too flashy or showy. It keeps emotional reality and feeling foregrounded at all times. Florence has a great knack for reflection, but without ever getting too lost within it. There is always purpose. There is real thought over her status and legacy on this one. Accepting that she will be one of the greats, though still questioning why she is deserving of that. Having had one day to explore the 12 tracks it feels hugely impressive. It will be interesting to see where this lands in the best albums of 2025 because it needs longer than one day to fully explore the many subtleties on show, the devastating put-downs, the powerful and poetic imagery. There is no doubt that this is a highly brilliant album from one of the most impressive artists on the planet.