Florence & the machine: Last News

Florence + The Machine have shared the moody new track ‘Mermaids’, which explores the grey English weather and society’s darker side.The new single arrived today (April 21), and sees the band pair dark and dance-inspired instrumentals with the ethereal vocals of frontwoman, Florence Welch. It also captures the same essence as seen with their latest full-length effort, 2022’s Dance Fever.Produced by Dave Bayley, the densely layered song references mermaids with “sharp teeth” who appear late at night to drink, dance and “sacrifice a human heart”.With lines including: “I remember falling through these streets / Somewhat out of place, if not for the drunkenness /It makes my chest hurt to think of it,” and “shining under lights from shitty clubs and doing shitty drugs / And hugging girls that smelt like Britney Spears and coconuts,” it’s possible that the track hints at Welch’s nine years of sobriety, and explores a darker side of society.The single comes after several weeks of the band teasing new music on social media.

Florence Welch performed Florence + The Machine’s classic debut album ‘Lungs’ for a special BBC Proms performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall last night (September 11). Check out photos, footage, the setlist and more below.Accompanied by two harpists, four percussionists, a string section, a woodwind section and more, the singer and composer Jules Buckley reimagined the songs from the 2009 album as sweeping orchestral pieces.After appearing onstage with backing singers who wore vests illustrated with the album’s iconic logo of two lungs, she dispatched her hit cover of Candi Staton’s ‘You Got The Love’ just three songs in.The audience filled a quiet section of the track with their own hushed take on its famous chanted refrain.

Fontaines D.C. played an intimate surprise gig in London last night (August 22) to launch their new album ‘Romance‘ – check out footage, the setlist and more below.The Dublin band – comprised of Grian Chatten, Tom Coll, Conor Curley, Conor Deegan III and Carlos O’Connell – took over London’s iconic Electric Ballroom for a last minute show in celebration of the release of their fourth album.They played to a sold-out crowd of 1500 at the Camden venue which saw the likes of Harry Styles, Cillian Murphy, Florence Welch and more in attendance.To kick off the night, Coll, Deegan and Carlos made their way to the stage as lime green lights flashed while Curly – swapping his 6-string for a bass guitar – began the opening notes to ‘Romance’s haunting and eery title track.Chatten walked on stage sporting a black t-shirt, black kilt, white knee-high socks, black combat boots and a pair of dark sunglasses which has become his uniform for the band’s current era.

Florence Welch and Jack Antonoff have made surprise appearances at Taylor Swift‘s final ‘Eras’ Wembley show. Check out the footage below.Tonight (August 20) marks the last of five consecutive ‘Eras Tour’ shows at the iconic London stadium and the final night of the colossal tour’s European leg.To wrap up the mini-residency, which began on August 15, Swift brought out Welch and Antonoff to surprise fans at the 92,000-capacity venue.Welch joined the stage to perform ‘Florida!!!’, her collab from Swift’s most recent album ‘The Tortured Poets Department‘, marking the first time the track has been performed live.Shortly after, Swift introduced her long-time collaborator Antonoff to the stage, saying: “I get to make music with one of my best friends in the world.”Antonoff has worked with Swift since 2014’s ‘1989‘ and has since produced ‘Reputation‘, ‘Lover‘, ‘Folkmore‘, ‘Evermore‘, ‘Midnights‘ and ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, as well as her re-recorded albums.Swift announced that they would play “a few of the favourite songs they’ve written together”, before launching into ‘Death By A Thousand Cuts’ and ‘Getaway Car’.As Antonoff departed the stage, Swift then told the crowd, “London, give it up for the producer of the century, Jack Antonoff.”Check it out below.Florence Welch and Taylor Swift performing “Florida!!!” for the first time ever.

Florence + The Machine have unveiled a new career-spanning compilation playlist titled ‘Under Heaven Over Hell’.Personally curated by frontwoman Florence Welch, the playlist features 39 tracks from all five of the band’s studio albums including 2009’s ‘Lungs’, 2011’s ‘Ceremonials’, 2015’s ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful‘, 2018’s ‘High As Hope‘ and 2022’s ‘Dance Fever‘. Listen to the compilation here.Announcing the playlist on her official Instagram page, Welch posted a photo of the cover with a caption that read: “We seem to have so many new Indoctrinates at the shows so as a welcome to our new followers, and a thank you to everyone who truly embraced ‘Dance Fever’ in the most creative and beautiful ways, We created an FATM anthology, a collection of songs from the last 5 albums.”A post shared by Florence Welch (@florence)She continued: “Options for listening are: running through a field, in a haunted house, drinking fake blood and crying glitter, Drunk in a clown suit, Calling like a crow for a boyfor a body in the garden, But would love to hear your suggestions.”Welch is currently spending the summer headlining festivals across Europe in celebration of 2022’s ‘Dance Fever‘.

Radio X reports, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) found that the popularity of the format had increased for 10 consecutive years. The sales of cassettes, however, remain much lower than those of vinyl records.The total number of cassette tape sales has risen from 3,823 in 2012 to more than 195,000 in 2022.It is said that the spike has been driven by recent releases from major acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Harry Styles and Florence + the Machine.Per the BPI, all 20 of last year’s biggest-selling cassettes were released in 2022.Mark Burgess, Founder of Flashback Records in north London, told Sky News that cassette sales had “shot up” at his shop post-pandemic.He said the old-school format appealed to younger music fans in particular due to its “collectability”.“Because cassettes are a smaller format, it’s easier to set up a collection,” he explained.

Florence + The Machine have announced two intimate US shows for next month. Tickets will be available here.The London band, who shared plans for their fifth album ‘Dance Fever’ last week, will be playing Los Angeles Theatre on April 29 and Alice Tully Hall in New York City on May 6.

Florence + The Machine have shared a new single called ‘My Love’ – you can listen to it below.The synth-heavy, energetic song will appear on the London band’s fifth studio album ‘Dance Fever’, which is due for release on May 13. You can pre-order/pre-save the record here.Following on from recent track ‘Heaven Is Here’ and last month’s ‘King’, Florence Welch are co’s latest offering was first written as an acoustic “sad little poem” in the singer-songwriter’s kitchen before being transformed into a floor-filling anthem reminiscent of “Nick Cave at the club”.Lyrically, Welch was inspired by the tragic heroines of pre-Raphaelite art, the gothic fiction of Carmen Maria Machado and Julia Armfield, as well as the films The Wicker Man and The Witch To Midsommar.‘My Love’ arrives with Great Gatsby-esque official visuals directed by Autumn de Wilde and choreographed by Ryan Heffington, who both worked on the group’s previous two videos.Tune in here:‘Dance Fever’ serves as the follow-up to Florence + The Machine’s 2018 record ‘High As Hope’.