CD of The Week

"Everybody scream!" As if we needed permission at this point.

Indeed, Florence Welch's titular command at the top of the newest Florence + The Machine album feels as on the nose for where the world is now as 2022's restless return to form Dance Fever did in the aftermath of COVID-induced isolation. Welch has deemed this an even more personal collection of songs than that one, revealing that its creation came in the aftermath of life-saving surgery for an ectopic pregnancy during her 2023 tour. This revelation adds even more weight and depth to Everybody Scream, another commanding chronicle of the perennially stormy relationship between its creator’s personal and professional lives.

It's fitting that one of Welch's many welcome collaborators this time around is fellow Y-Not fave Mitski. She's spent recent releases grappling with the pros and cons of her own fame and proves a natural fit to the themes here, particularly in the aforementioned title track. Whereas Mitski approaches her indie darling status with "be careful what you wish for" ambiguity, Florence, however, wrestles with the pull of the stage like an all-encompassing addiction that can't be quit, her ravenous audience a deity that can't be sated, no matter how much blood she leaves on stage. After all, she asks us, "How can I leave you when you're screaming my name?"

She's savvy and self-aware enough to admit her own ego's hand in her drive, of course. Just one song later on future classic "One Of The Greats," her "Are you not entertained?" peacocking turns pleading, laying out how hard and harrowing putting herself out there can be for an increasingly fickle fandom. A touch of Shirley Manson's acidic cheek even comes through when she folds this insecurity into cryptic comparisons to an unnamed frontman: "it must be nice to be a man and make boring music because you can." I'm not sure which debate will be more fun, who she's referring to or how serious she's being.

The National's Aaron Dessner proves an inspired hand on deck across the bulk of this album. He brings guitars back to the front of the mix and renders them raw, somewhere between the melancholy of Chan Marshall and the machismo of PJ Harvey. Idles guitarist Mark Bowen also provides able assistance, as do left-field pop producers Danny L Harle and James Ford. All of the above contributions swirl seamlessly around Florence's titanic-as-ever vocals, with rhythms and crescendos that beg to fill sold-out arenas next year when she embarks on tour. It won't be hard to imagine fans old and new wailing and flailing in unison like the helpless bystanders in Florence's masterpiece music video for "Everybody Scream,” itself evocative of folk horror like The Wicker Man, Midsommar, and other explorations of communal hysteria and ritualistic reverie.

No one makes those intimidating sensations more inviting, or thrilling, on record these days than Florence Welch. Her Machine continues to run as mightily and masterfully as ever, casting its latest spell with magic, menace, and majesty that make it impossible to resist. Now that's something to scream about.

Florence + The Machine return to Philadelphia to lead everyone in screaming at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 25th, 2026.