THE BAND: One of the UK’s biggest international exports in recent years, Florence + The Machine is the brainchild of teenage friends Florence Welch and Isabella ‘Machine’ Summers. Having already sold over five million records between 2009 debut Lungs and follow up Ceremonials, 2015 sees the band return with How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, a record described by Welch as her most personal yet.
THE SOUND: A world removed from Welch’s usual grandiloquence, the low-key chamber pop of ‘St Jude’ sees the songstress invoke the patron saint while mourning: “Maybe I’ve always been more comfortable in chaos,” in a powerful chorus somewhat reminiscent of Annie Lennox.
THE VIDEO: The latest instalment (chapter 2) in the collaborative project between Welch and LA based director Vincent Haycock, the Dante-inspired video sees Welch plaintively wander the first layer of a metaphorical hell.
THE LOWDOWN: Florence + The Machine hit up the international festival circuit this summer with UK dates yet to be confirmed. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is released 1 June 2015 via Island Records.
