After a tantalizing tease of a highly-anticipated new album, Florence + The Machine have released an epicly grand statement for the first single off How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, which will be released June 2 on Republic.
The video for “What Kind of Man” (directed by Vincent Haycock, and choreographed by Ryan Heffington) gives some insight to the potential existential turmoil ahead on the record, as a couple (one-half of which played by Welch) discuss modern attachments and relationships as the inner workings of the woman’s emotions and experiences personify into detailed scenes of struggle and suffering.
The new record was produced by Markus Dravs, with contributions by Paul Epworth, John Hill, and Kid Harpoon (who co-wrote Ceremonials mega single “Shake It Out,” and penned “Ship To Wreck” and “What Kind of Man” off of How Big, How Blue). Of Dravs’s contributions, Welch details:
“Markus has done a few Arcade Fire albums and he’s done Björk’s Homogenic, which is a huge record for me. And I felt he had that balance of organic and electronic capabilities, managing those two worlds. And, you know, he’s good with big sounds. And I like big sounds… With Markus, I wanted to make something that was big but that had a gentleness to it. That had a warmth, that was rooted. I think that’s why we went back more to the live instruments. Something that was band-led almost.”
Welch also detailed the extensive use of a brass section on the album, which was arranged by Will Gregory of Goldfrapp.
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful will be released June 2.
