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Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Arts Correspondent
@jeremydwilliams
3:00 AM 14th May 2022
arts

Album Review: Florence + The Machine Dance Fever

 
Florence + The Machine Dance Fever
King; Free; Choreomania; Back in Town; Girls Against God; Dream Girl Evil; Prayer Factory; Cassandra; Heaven Is Here; Daffodil; My Love; Restraint; The Bomb; Morning Elvis. Universal Music: B09TRVF5F
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Formed 15 years ago, Florence + The Machine, of course, exploded onto the music scene in 2009 with the release of their debut album Lungs. With their first three albums having reached the #1 spot on the album charts and selling to Platinum (and multi-Platinum) status, the group have waited four years since the release of their #2 charting fourth studio album, High As Hope, to treat their fans to their latest album. Dance Fever arrives off the back of a flurry of four impressive singles, that showed the group had kept their core sound but grown within the creative process of album #5.

Given that the band's strongest work has always had echoes of musical enigma Kate Bush, it is fair to say that the album's lead single and opener, King, definitely got the loyal fanbase excited given the lyrical prowess and musical stature that once again took a lead from Kate Bush. But does the remainder of Dance Fever do the same?

Not quite, but that does not mean it is a disappointing or weak listen in the slightest. While the album title is somewhat misleading - this is not their danciest of records - though it is easy to move along to - it is definitely their most ambitious sonically and the most diverse. From the synth-rock anthem Free through to the folkish release of Heaven Is Here, Dance Free is an almost euphoric moment of self exploration and freedom.

However, it is in one of the album's most mellow moments that the album's crowning moment is find. The blissful release of Girls Against God, Dance Fever shows that sometimes it is the smallest steps of self discovery and reflection that unleash the most tender moments.