Introduction
Opening with King, Dance Fever by Florence + The Machine is an ethereal and religious experience start to finish. With a stark juxtaposition present in the sound, lyrics, and visuals, Dance Fever presents ideas about revival and regrowth in the time of the pandemic. The album has been described as free, feminine, has goddess energy, restorative, and reflective. Inspired by the early modern European phenomenon “Choreomania” that involves groups of people dancing erratically, the album was released in May of 2022 as Florence + The Machine’s 5th studio album.
The album was written in the time of the pandemic in two different locations. Production was originally scheduled in early 2020 in New York City. Then as lockdown hit Welch moved production to London and finished writing and recording the rest of the album. Front man Florence Welch wanted to re-record the album all in one place but ultimately decided to keep the sound of the two different production locations and time periods. In doing so, Welch captures the “frantic energy” that the pandemic brought on.
Visuals
The inspirations for the visuals of the album involve a lot of gothic and funeral themes and imagery. A lot of the imagery was inspired by Edwardian and Victorian portraits. She wanted elements that were glamours, broken, fading, and with an air of tragedy. She looked at a lot of sacred hearts, brought in horror aspects and wanted something rich, decorative, and maximalist in palette. All this together creates some gorgeous images and visuals included below.
