Florence + the Machine's last album was 2018's High as Hope. Last year, fans' thirst for new music from the immense vocalist was quenched with Welch's work on the Cruella soundtrack. Then, yesterday, Welch posted on her Instagram an image of herself lounging, her fiery red hair splayed over her shoulders, in an intricately framed portrait with the word "King" at the bottom. The caption for her post read: "Did you miss me..." Today, she's revealed that the tease was linked to her new single "King" and a video directed by Autumn de Wilde.
Over blood-pumping drums, "King" falls in line with Florence + the Machine's signature suspenseful songwriting, this time grappling with gendered labels and a sexist world. "I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king," Welch sings during the chorus. During the opening verse she mentions an argument in regard to having children, the value of art, and her ambition.
“As an artist, I never actually thought about my gender that much,” Florence explained in a statement. “I just got on with it. I was as good as the men and I just went out there and matched them every time. But now, thinking about being a woman in my thirties and the future, I suddenly feel this tearing of my identity and my desires. That to be a performer, but also to want a family might not be as simple for me as it is for my male counterparts. I had modelled myself almost exclusively on male performers, and for the first time I felt a wall come down between me and my idols as I have to make decisions they did not.”
The accompanying visual depicts a witchy performance in which Florence floats through the air, mysterious and all-powerful, backed by a coven of dancers and a levitating band. Check it out below.
