“Here, I don’t have to be quiet, here I don’t have to be kind.”
These lyrics are on the opening and titular track of Florence + The Machine’s fifth studio album, Everybody Scream, released this past Halloween. Appropriately, this album follows through on Florence + The Machine’s classic gothic aesthetics, with a touch more witchiness. Thematically, this record revolves around the intoxicating experience of live performance, and how it collides with a failing relationship and a struggling identity as a female artist. Through enchanting and eerie vocals and production, Florence invokes the feeling of pulling you into her coven, as she tells tales around a wild bonfire. The opening track, “Everybody Scream,” kicks the record off in gliding chants as she reflects on the magic and misery of the stage. “Buckle” is one of the more intriguing tracks, due to its stripped-back sound and upfront storytelling, which is notably co-written by fellow indie artist Mitski —a unique approach from Florence, a classic maximalist. “I’m still hanging by the buckle of your belt,” Welch surrenders to sing. She revisits this sound and narrative on the later track “Music by Men,” with the same approach of the sliding guitars and upfront vocals. “The Old Religion,” arguably the best track on the album, is classic Florence, with its building production and tension, soaring chorus, and otherworldly vocals. “It’s your troubled hero / back for season six / when it’s at its darkest / it’s my favorite bit,” she writes.
This album has many consistent highs, but also consistent flaws. Most notably, the lack of full-fledged choruses hinder this album. “Sympathy Magic,” “Drink Deep,” “You Can Have it All,” and “And Love” all lack dynamic, clear-cut choruses; a strange departure from Florence. Also, the lack of evident structure and melody drags many of the songs, and keeps them from sticking the landing like in “Witch Dance.” Production-wise, it is what you would expect from a Florence + The Machine album, building on the landscape she played with on 2015’s “Which Witch” of her third record, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. She reaches deeper, darker depths here, similar but more mature than the sound of her earlier records, thanks to production from herself, Aaron Dessner, Mark Bowen, and James Ford.
“And Love” closes out the record, with twinkling strings and an understated delivery—a calm and optimistic finale to the storm that ravages throughout the album. “Peace is coming,” she sings, following the devastation across the 12 songs over dazzling production. Overall, Everybody Scream is a thundering addition to Florence + The Machine’s catalogue and a triumphant testament to their artistry.
Highlights: Everybody Scream, One of The Greats, Perfume and Milk, Buckle, The Old Religion, Music by Men
Low points: Witch Dance, Kraken, Drink Deep
Album Rating: 8/10
