During his acceptance speech for Best Actor at this year's Screen Actors Guild Awards, Timothee Chalamet stated his desire to be remembered as “one of the greats”. A few years earlier, Chalamet starred in Greta Gerwig adaptation “Little Women” in which his character pointedly asks his future wife: “What kind of women are even allowed into the genius club?”
Everybody Scream, Florence + the Machine's sixth album, is a response to this familiar gender concept. On 12 tracks Florence Welch struggles with both her desire for greatness and the limitations she perceives to be placed on her as an artist.
It's unclear whether Welch had Chalamet's viral speech in mind when he wrote “One of the Greats,” the album's lead single. But what is evident in her thoughtful feminist treatise is her dissatisfaction with sexism and men's entitlement. “It must be nice to be a man and make boring music just because you can,” she croons over gothic synths and strings. But it's also a little funny: “Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan and you're my second favorite frontman.”
For much of the recording, Welch collaborated with Mark Bowen of IDLES, as well as Mythical And Aaron Dessner of The National. The occasional collaboration makes for an exciting sound, but much of “Everybody Scream” is filled with the band's signature orchestral pop, ornate arrangements of strings, synths, guitars, piano and percussion.
Perhaps mistakenly, “Everybody Scream” doesn't sound any different from what Florence + the Machine fans were expecting. But Welch's lyrics continually reflect on mysticism and witchcraft, something she turned to after suffering a near-fatal ectopic pregnancy in 2023. The 39-year-old singer later revealed that during her last tour she performed with a burst fallopian tube and had to undergo emergency surgery.
“I'm sitting in the salt water/Calling in a vision of my daughter/Light a candle/Put your grief on the altar,” her voice vibrates amid haunting backing vocals and eerie electric guitar on “You Can Have It All.”
The record feels like Halsey's 2021 concept album. “If I can't have love, I want power” where femininity and motherhood coexist with influence, respect and violence.
There is a similar rawness to Welch's poetry as she grapples with mortality and ambition. But, like life, it is also accompanied by routine. “Downloading 'Revelations of Divine Love' on my phone/Trying to read but I get distracted/Trying to live but I feel so broken,” she sings on “Perfume and Milk,” one of the most stark songs on the album.
As a concept, Everybody Screams is great. There's a sonic and thematic cohesion to the album, and releasing it on Halloween makes sense.
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“Everybody's Screaming” by Florence + the Machine
Three and a half stars out of five.
On repeat: “The Magic of Sympathy” and “Witch’s Dance.”
Skip: “Music of Men”
For fans of: female witches, spooky season, second wave feminism.
