What a start, what a driving song, what a defiant statement! “King” is the name of the first track on “Dance Fever”, the album by Florence + the Machine; the band fronted by front woman Florence Welch.
In 2009, the Londoner stepped into the limelight with “Lungs” and a dark, colorful, sparkling mixture of rock, pop, folk and goth, paired with lyrics that oscillate between love and death, heaven and hell, but also self-empowerment. “Dance Fever” is the fifth album, with six million albums sold in between.
So the beginning, “King”. A powerful, opulent anthem – and immediately a clear statement: “I am no mother, I am no bride,” sings Welch. “I’m not a mother, I’m not a bride.” – “I am King.” She doesn’t want to be queen, but king. Florence Welch claims the male crown. So it is right!
Anyone who thinks that the disco ball is rolling and the 1970s are boiling up in “Dance Fever” is wrong. Well, not quite. Dancing as a life-affirming movement, as a vademecum once morest standstill and pandemic isolation runs like a neon strip through a musically and lyrically successful album.
“Choreomania” is the name of another song; a word used in the Middle Ages to denote dance addiction or rage. You can indeed become addicted. After those majestic sounds of King Florence.
Album tip: Florence + the Machine. dance fever Universal. Released digitally, on CD and vinyl.
