This November, Florence and the Machine will release the follow-up to their hugely popular (and huge-sounding) debut LP, Lungs. The as-yet-untitled album is out November 7 in the UK via Island, and Universal Republic will release it sometime the same month in the U.S. Listen to the first track released from it– the festival-ready, gospel-choir-infused “What the Water Gave Me”– below.
While Lungs featured the input of several different producers and showed off various sonic styles, the new album has the band working solely with studio man Paul Epworth (Adele, Bloc Party), whose work was featured on many of Lungs’ best tracks including “Cosmic Love” and “Blinding”. Frontwoman Florence Welch promises a more cohesive affair that zeroes-in on the booming mystic-pop that highlighted her debut. Along with “What the Water Gave Me”, the new record features live favorite “Strangeness and Charm” (listen to a high-quality live rip of that track here.)
We spoke with Welch last week as she was putting the final touches on the new record, “fiddling with the tiniest bits that only I would probably notice,” she said. Read on for our brief interview:
“What the Water Gave Me”:
“With this record, it’s like taking everything from the first album that seemed quite separate and making them whole.”
Pitchfork: I thought the best tracks on Lungs were produced by Paul Epworth– did you feel the same way? Is that why you got him to produce this whole album?
Florence Welch: Yeah, the way that “Cosmic Love” turned out really made me want to do the whole next record with him. That song was written in like half an hour in a tiny bedroom studio and I always had this idea for a really big sound coming from all that clatter, and he managed to capture that on record in the best way.
With Lungs, I hit on the sound I wanted about halfway through making it. There were so many different influences, and the differences between a song like “Kiss With a Fist” and “Dog Days” are huge because I’d written one when I was 17 and one when I was 21. With this record, I’ve been able to expand on the idea that I was hitting on towards the end of making Lungs. It’s like taking everything from the first album that seemed quite separate and making them whole.
Pitchfork: I caught your set at a few festivals over the last couple years, and your music really thrived in that open atmosphere. Do you feel like playing to such big audiences influenced the sound of this new album?
FW: Yeah. I’ve been thinking about songwriting more in terms of playing it live, and how it will sound as a band. With the first one, I wasn’t really thinking about that, so some of the songs were pretty unrecognizable live compared to how they are on record, which isn’t a bad thing, either. I don’t want to go to a gig and it sounds record-perfect.
Pitchfork: Are there any other songs that you’re particularly excited about on the new album at this moment?
FW: I don’t want to give too much away yet, but I’m happy with it. It’s quite hard for me to say that about something because, as a British person, I’m so self-critical. [laughs] I’m never satisfied with anything.
“The stage is the place I feel comfortable– it’s almost as if real life is where I feel most nervous. Conversations are a lot more nerve-wracking.”
Pitchfork: It’s funny to hear you hemming and hawing because you seem so uninhibited onstage. Do you get nervous before shows?
FW: The stage is the place I feel comfortable– it’s almost as if real life is where I feel most nervous. Conversations are a lot more nerve-wracking. All the words are already there when you’re singing onstage, it’s fantastic. You can lose yourself in what you’ve created. You’re controlling this freedom. Whereas in a conversation, the words can get stuck, I don’t know what to say, I get very anxious.
Pitchfork: So you’re more nervous about this conversation than playing Glastonbury?
FW: Yeah! [laughs] Actually, the last Glastonbury was terrifying. There were just so many people– you can’t quantify that many people in your eyeballs. It was such an intense experience. That Glastonbury was definitely more frightening than this conversation.
Pitchfork: You’ve done a bunch of collaborations over the last few years with the likes of Dizzee Rascal and the xx. Are there any guests on this new record?
FW: It turned out that I haven’t really worked with anyone else on it. In the future, I’d really like to do something with Jamie from the xx. We’ve done a couple bits here and there together, so maybe that will turn into something.
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