Florence + The Machine finds magic in the chaos on ‘Everybody Scream’ — Album Review

Recommended tracks: “Everybody Scream,” “Witch Dance,” “The Old Religion”
Artists you may like: Hozier, Paris Paloma, The Last Dinner Party

Since her first album Lungs in 2009, Florence + The Machine has become one of the most monumental artists of a generation, known best for her powerful vocals and sweeping, emotionally charged performances that blur the line between the mystical and the mundane. 

Everybody Scream is the gothic extension of the universe and mythology Florence Welch created with her 2022 release, Dance Fever. The album was written and produced over the past two years with a close-knit circle of collaborators including Mark Bowen of IDLES, Aaron Dessner and Mitski. What emerged is a world that swells with emotion, each note carrying the weight of intimacy and catharsis. The energy Welch creates through her vocals is visceral and powerful, as her voice becomes an extension of the magic she is creating. Each song feels like a spell being cast out into the world that creates a living tapestry of sound. 

The title track, released along with its music video in August, introduces listeners to the chaos and the magic of the album. In the closing moments, Florence joins her “witch choir,” the Idrîsî Ensemble, in a fevered chant, casting one last, intoxicating spell: “The witchcraft, the medicine, the spells, and the injections / The harvest, the needle, protect me from evil / The magic and the misery, madness and the mystery / Oh, what has it done to me? Everybody scream.” It’s a raw, ritualistic release that leaves the song burning a trail for the rest of the album.

“Witch Dance” makes the album come alive. Ghostly voices cry in the background and hand drums sound throughout the song. Welch paints a picture through the song, “I tear off my nightgown and run naked through the town / Run through rain, run through fog,” and later, “I came to a clearing full of wailing and keening / A well of tears that never runs dry.“ 

In “Kraken,” Welch transforms as she compares her body to that of C’thulhu, taking power in her transformation. It is a cathartic middle track where she takes back control and grows larger than life; “You said I would be nothing, but look, I’m really something / Many arms around the mast as your ship starts cracking.”

Despite being one of the softer tracks, “The Old Religion” still gives into the primal, animal instinct of that desire for freedom that rings beneath everyday life as she sings, “Freedom from the body, freedom from the pain.” Following up is the hypnotic “Drink Deep,” where listeners are pulled into a cinematic, folk horror track. It pairs well with the previous track, as it swells with percussion and is filled with almost mournful throat singing; “My eyes began to hollow, my skin began to fade / What I thought was a night was a thousand years / What I thought was a sip was a thousand tears.” 

As the album moves through its darker, more visceral depths, the chaos slowly begins to settle, giving way to something quieter and more redemptive.

After the long scream, comes the cathartic exhale. On Everybody Scream, that would be the ethereal last track, “And Love.” With shimmering harp and gentle piano, Welch finds softness as promises, “Peace is coming.”

Music casts spells for Florence Welch, and Everybody Scream is a grimoire that takes listeners on a journey of healing, self-revelation and the haunting beauty of it all. The album pulls listeners straight into the coven, urging them to join the ritual, to scream alongside her as the world burns and rebuilds. With its final breath, Everybody Scream proves that Florence + The Machine is conjuring something bigger, stranger and utterly transcendent.

Everybody Scream is out now.

Florence + The Machine’s North American leg of the Everybody Scream Tour is set to start April 8 in Minneapolis, MN with support from Rachel Chinouriri, Sofia Isella, CMAT and Mannequin Pussy for select dates. Sign up for the presale here.

Everybody Scream North America Tour:
April 8 // Minneapolis, MN
April 10 // Chicago, IL
April 13 // Detroit, MI
April 15 // Montreal, QC
April 16 // Toronto, ON
April 18 // Washington, D.C.
April 19 // Boston, MA
April 21 // New York, NY
April 24 // Brooklyn, NY
Apr 25 // Philadelphia, PA
Apr 28 // Tampa, FL
Apr 29 // Miami, FL
May 1 // Atlanta, GA
May 2 // Nashville, TN
May 4 // Austin, TX
May 5 // Houston, TX
May 7 // Fort Worth, TX
May 9 // Glendale, AZ
May 12 // Seattle, WA
May 13 // Portland, OR
May 15 // San Francisco, CA
May 19 // Los Angeles, CA
May 20 // Los Angeles, CA

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