Florence + The Machine's 5th album sees frontwoman, Florence Welch, question her relationship with her art and to femininity. "You need to go to war to find material to sing / I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king" she sings in King, the opening track built around an incredible musical crescendo. This album takes modern-day life and wraps it up in a medieval fairy-tale aesthetic, with the British singer extending the theme of feminism to such a point that she almost seems to celebrate freedom in the broadest sense. This celebration is accompanied by the kind of dance that can lead to death by exhaustion (Free). The track Choreomania seems to be a reference to tarantism, a psychological illness that causes an extreme impulse to dance that was rampant in the Middle Ages.
Co-produced by herself and Jack Antonoff (Lana Del Rey), the combination of contemporary themes and vibrant music make Dance Fever a fantastic listen. However, Florence Welch isn’t always fighting on the front line, she can also reveal real vulnerability and softness (for example, in the ballads Girls Against God and The Bomb). She’s equally happy to venture her way into wild and bewitching lands in Prayer Factory and Heaven Is Here (a track bursting with crazy musical ideas). Kate Bush is a clear influence throughout this release, which unexpectedly concludes with a tribute to Elvis Presley, one of Florence Welch’s idols (Morning Elvis).
