Wikipedia

Dance Fever (album)

Dance Fever is the fifth studio album by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, released on 13 May 2022 by Polydor Records. Work on the album was originally scheduled for early 2020 in New York City; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recording took place in London instead. Frontwoman Florence Welch has cited Iggy Pop as the biggest musical influence on the album; which features a variety of styles, ranging from progressive pop to indie pop, disco, and industrial music.

Dance Fever
Standard CD and LP cover
Studio album by
Florence and the Machine
Released13 May 2022 (2022-05-13)
Recorded2020–2021
Studio
Genre
Length47:12
LabelPolydor
Producer
Florence and the Machine chronology
High as Hope
(2018) 		Dance Fever
(2022)
Alternative cover
HMV (UK) and _target (US) exclusive LP cover
HMV (UK) and _target (US) exclusive LP cover
Singles from Dance Fever
  1. "King"
    Released: 23 February 2022
  2. "My Love"
    Released: 10 March 2022
  3. "Free"
    Released: 20 April 2022

The title and concept of Dance Fever originated in Welch's fascination with choreomania, a social phenomenon in early modern Europe that involved groups of people dancing erratically. The album cover was photographed by Autumn de Wilde, who also filmed music videos for the album's three singles: "King", "My Love" and "Free", as well as the song "Heaven Is Here".

Dance Fever was a commercial success in Europe, the US and Oceania. It debuted atop the UK Albums Chart in the week of its release, becoming the band's fourth number-one album in their home country. It reached the second place in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Portugal and debuted in the top ten of several other record charts. The album received acclaim from music critics and is ranked as the best-received album in the band's release history. Critics mainly praised the diversity of the sound, Welch's songwriting abilities and powerful vocals. "King" earned a nomination for Best Alternative Music Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Florence and the Machine embarked on the Dance Fever Tour which visited cities in North America, Europe and Oceania.

Background and recording

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The majority of the album was recorded in London. The first recording sessions for the album were originally scheduled to take place in March 2020 in New York City but were scrapped after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic.[1] While recording the "anthemic" Dance Fever, Welch and her collaborators fostered a "dance, folk, '70s Iggy Pop" sound in the vein of "Lucinda Williams or Emmylou Harris and more" that is meant to be enjoyed during "the return of clubs, live music and dancing at festivals".[1] Welch also found inspiration in "the tragic heroines of pre-Raphaelite art, the gothic fiction of Carmen Maria Machado and Julia Armfield, the visceral wave of folk horror film from The Wicker Man" (1973) to the A24 films The Witch (2015) and Midsommar (2019), Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) was visually a big reference for the record and the costumes, and "folkloric elements of a moral panic from the Middle Ages".[1][2][3][4]

The title of the album was inspired by Welch's fascination with choreomania, a social phenomenon in early modern Europe that involved groups of people dancing erratically.[1][2][3]

Promotion

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Main article: Dance Fever Tour

On 9 March 2022, Welch posted the album cover to her Instagram account in a post announcing the album's pre-order date. She described the album as "a fairytale in 14 songs" in the same post.[5]

In early 2022, Florence and the Machine were confirmed to be headlining a series of summer music festivals, including the Madrid's Mad Cool. On 28 March 2022, Welch announced the Dance Fever Tour to support the album. The tour began on 2 September 2022 at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec and concluded on 21 March 2023 at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.[6][7] A 24-track live album recorded during the band's 17 September 2022 concert at Madison Square Garden, entitled Dance Fever (Live at Madison Square Garden), was released on 14 October 2022.[8]

Singles

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On 21 February 2022, fans of the band received a medieval-styled card in the mail that featured a photo of Florence Welch dressed in period clothing. The card had the word "King" on it, and each envelope was inscribed with the wording "Florence + the Machine – Chapter 1" along its back. That same day, digital billboards began popping up around London that featured the same picture of Welch that was printed on the card.[9][10] The band's website was also updated with fifteen cards, the first of which featuring the mailer's design.[11] The single, titled "King" was digitally released on 23 February 2022 along with its accompanying music video.[12]

The first single was soon followed by the release of "Heaven Is Here", on 7 March.[13] Music videos for both songs were shot in Kyiv shortly before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The second single "My Love" and the third single "Free" were released on 10 March[1] and 20 April,[14] respectively. Welch dedicated the music video for "Free" to the people of Ukraine amidst the Russian invasion.[15]

On 9 December 2022, a live version of "Morning Elvis" in a duet with Ethel Cain, recorded at the Ball Arena on 1 October 2022 during the Denver stop of the Dance Fever Tour, was released as a promotional single.[16]

Composition

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Dance Fever is a pop rock,[17] baroque pop,[18] progressive pop,[19] alternative rock,[20] gothic pop,[21] and folk[21] album.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[22]
Metacritic84/100[23]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [24]
Clash9/10[25]
The Daily Telegraph     [21]
Dork     [26]
Gigwise          [27]
The Independent     [17]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[28]
NME     [29]
Paste8.0/10[18]
Pitchfork7.1/10[30]

Dance Fever received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 17 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim",[23] becoming the band's highest-scored album on the website to date. Writing for AllMusic, Neil Z. Yeung, gave the album four out of five stars and likened it to the band's previous releases Lungs (2009) and How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015) in "emotional depth and uplifting power".[24] He concluded his review by writing that the album marked "a generous offering to the goddesses of dance and restorative energy".[24]

Sophia McDonald from Clash Music rated the album nine out of ten stars, labelling it "as majestic as it is authentic". She further praised it for its "self awareness" and deemed it "beautifully honest". Summarising the album as a whole, McDonald deemed it "[a] dance party to release your demons to, they [Florence and the Machine] cast yet another lyrically beautiful and musically capitulating spell."[25]

Commercial performance

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Dance Fever achieved wide commercial success across Europe. It debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, thus becoming the band's fourth number-one album in the country. The album achieved the feat with approximately 26,000 chart sales midweek during its release.[31] Additionally, it debuted atop the Scottish Albums Chart in the week of 20 May 2022.

Dance Fever achieved commercial success in the United States and Australia as well. In the US, the album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 albums chart, thus becoming the band's fourth top ten record in the country. It further reached the summit of the Top Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts in the country.[32] In Australia, Dance Fever debuted at number 2 on the ARIA Charts in its first week of release on 29 May 2022.[33]

Track listing

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Dance Fever track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."King"
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
4:40
2."Free"
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
3:54
3."Choreomania"
3:33
4."Back in Town"
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
3:56
5."Girls Against God"
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
4:40
6."Dream Girl Evil"
  • Welch
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
  • Bayley
  • Doveman[a]
3:47
7."Prayer Factory"
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
  • Welch
  • Bayley
1:13
8."Cassandra"
4:18
9."Heaven Is Here"Welch
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
  • Harpoon
  • Bayley
1:51
10."Daffodil"
  • Welch
  • Bayley
  • Welch
  • Bayley
3:34
11."My Love"
  • Welch
  • Bayley
  • Welch
  • Bayley
3:51
12."Restraint"
  • Welch
  • Bayley
  • Welch
  • Bayley
  • Harpoon[m]
0:48
13."The Bomb"
  • Welch
  • Robert Ackroyd
  • Bartlett
  • Welch
  • Doveman
  • Antonoff
2:45
14."Morning Elvis"
  • Welch
  • Bayley
  • Welch
  • Bayley
  • Antonoff[a]
4:22
Total length:47:12
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Cassandra" (acoustic)
  • Welch
  • Harpoon
4:07
16."Free" (acoustic)
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
4:04
17."Morning Elvis" (acoustic)
  • Welch
  • Bayley
3:53
18."My Love" (acoustic)
  • Welch
  • Bayley
3:30
19."Search and Destroy"
4:01
Total length:66:47
Apple Music edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."King" (poem version)
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
Welch3:00
16."My Love" (poem version)
  • Welch
  • Bayley
Welch2:52
17."Cassandra" (poem version)
  • Welch
  • Harpoon
Welch4:00
18."King" (music video)  5:18
19."Heaven Is Here" (music video)  2:16
20."My Love" (music video)  4:24
21."Free" (music video)  4:51
Total length:73:53
Complete edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Mermaids"
  • Welch
  • Bayley
  • Welch
  • Bayley
4:35
15."Morning Elvis"
  • Welch
  • Bayley
  • Welch
  • Bayley
  • Antonoff[a]
4:22
16."King" (poem version)
  • Welch
  • Antonoff
Welch3:00
17."My Love" (poem version)
  • Welch
  • Bayley
Welch2:52
18."Cassandra" (poem version)
  • Welch
  • Harpoon
Welch4:00
Total length:61:39

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer
  • ^[m] signifies a miscellaneous producer

Personnel

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Florence and the Machine

  • Florence Welch – vocals (all tracks), string arrangement (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 11), percussion (2, 6, 9, 10), piano (2, 6), acoustic guitar (9), foot stamping (9, 12)
  • Robert Ackroyd – electric guitar (13)
  • Tom Monger – harp
  • Cyrus Bayandor – bass
  • Aku Orraca-Tetteh – background vocals (3, 4, 6)
  • Dionne Douglas – violin
  • Hazel Mills – background vocals
  • Sam Doyle – drums

Additional musicians

  • Jack Antonoff – acoustic guitar (1–3, 5, 8), bass (1–6, 8), drums (1–6, 8, 13), Mellotron (1–4), percussion (1–3, 8), piano (1–4, 6), programming (1–3, 6, 9, 14), bells (2, 3), electric guitar (2, 3, 5), organ (2. 5, 8), 12-string acoustic guitar (3, 8), slide guitar (5, 13), synthesizer (5, 6, 8), tubular bells (8, 9), Wurlitzer organ (8)
  • Evan Smith – saxophones (1, 3, 5), synthesizer (1)
  • Tom Moth – harp, string arrangement (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 11)
  • Bobby Hawk – violin (1–4)
  • Eric Byers – cello (2–4)
  • Dave Bayley – electric guitar (2, 6, 7, 10–12, 14), strings (2, 11, 14), programming (5, 7, 9–12, 14), bells (6), percussion (6, 7, 11, 14), piano (6, 10, 11), synthesizer (6, 9, 10), bass (7, 10, 11, 14), organ (7, 12), acoustic guitar (10), drums (10, 11, 14), Mellotron (10, 14), keyboards (11)
  • Thomas Bartlett – percussion (3), piano (3, 13), synthesizer (3, 4, 6, 13); accordion, drums, keyboards (13)
  • Maggie Rogers – background vocals (5, 6)
  • Leo Abrahams – acoustic guitar (6), electric guitar (6, 10, 14)
  • Steve Pearce – bass (6)
  • Ian Thomas – drums (6)
  • Mark Brown – saxophone (6)
  • Sally Herbert – string arrangement (6)
  • Paul Burton – trombone (6)
  • Joe Auckland – trumpet (6)
  • Mikey Freedom Hart – acoustic guitar (7, 14); celesta, viola (7); falsetto, pedal steel guitar (14)
  • Kid Harpoon – bass, drums, electric guitar, piano (8, 9); percussion (8)
  • Chris Worsey – cello (11)
  • Ian Burdge – cello (11)
  • Everton Nelson – violin (11)
  • Gillon Cameron – violin (11)
  • Julia Singleton – violin (11)
  • Kate Robinson – violin (11)
  • Lucy Wilkins – violin (11)
  • Marianne Haynes – violin (11)
  • Natalia Bonner – violin (11)
  • Nicky Sweeney – violin (11)
  • Richard George – violin (11)
  • Rick Koster – violin (11)

Technical

  • Chris Gehringer – mastering
  • Will Quinnell – mastering (2–14)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (1–4, 6, 8, 10, 11)
  • Jack Antonoff – mixing (5, 7, 9, 12, 13)
  • Laura Sisk – mixing (5, 7, 9, 12, 13), engineering (1–6, 8, 9, 13), additional engineering (11, 14)
  • David Wrench – mixing (14)
  • Evan Smith – engineering (1–3, 5)
  • Jon Gautier – engineering (1–4)
  • Billy Halliday – engineering (5–14)
  • David Hart – engineering (7)
  • Jeremy Hatcher – engineering (8, 9)
  • Pat Dillett – engineering (13)
  • Mikey Freedom Hart – engineering (14)
  • Bryce Bordone – mixing assistance (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11)
  • Dave Snyder – engineering assistance (1–6, 8, 9, 13, 14)
  • Duncan Fuller – engineering assistance (1–6, 8, 10)
  • John Rooney – engineering assistance (1–5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14)
  • Lauren Marquez – engineering assistance (1–6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14)
  • Matt Hall – engineering assistance (1–6, 8, 9, 13, 14)
  • Megan Searl – engineering assistance (1–5)
  • Ben Loveland – engineering assistance (6, 8, 10, 11, 14)
  • Amy Sergeant – engineering assistance (7, 13)
  • James Pinfield-Wells – engineering assistance (7, 13)
  • Claude Vause – engineering assistance (12)

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Dance Fever
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[64] Gold 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Skinner, Tom (10 March 2022). "Florence + The Machine floor-filling single 'My Love' and announces new album details". NME. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b Strauss, Matthew (10 March 2022). "Florence and the Machine Announce New Album Dance Fever, Share Video: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b Renshaw, David (10 March 2022). "Florence + the Machine confirm Dance Fever album details". The Fader. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Florence Welch reveals new Machine album is inspired by Dracula and other horror monsters". Contact Music. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  5. ^ Ackroyd, Stephen (9 March 2022). "Florence + The Machine have announced a new album, 'Dance Fever'". Dork. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  6. ^ Paul, Larisha (28 March 2022). "Florence and the Machine Announce North American Headline Tour in Support of 'Dance Fever'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  7. ^ Dailey, Hannah (28 March 2022). "Florence + The Machine to Embark on North American Leg of 2022 Dance Fever Tour". Billboard. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  8. ^ Richards, Will (14 October 2022). "Florence + The Machine share new live album from Madison Square Garden". NME. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  9. ^ Wang, Steffanee (22 February 2022). "Florence + the Machine Teases Comeback with "King" Playing Cards". Nylon. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Florence + the Machine Are Teasing New Music". DIY. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  11. ^ Clarke, Patrick (22 February 2022). "Florence + The Machine announce their return: "Something's coming"". NME. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  12. ^ Ackroyd, Stephen (23 February 2022). "Florence + The Machine's epic new track 'King' is here – watch the video now". Dork. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  13. ^ Hussey, Allison (7 March 2022). "Watch Florence and the Machine's Video for New Song "Heaven Is Here"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  14. ^ Breihan, Tom (20 April 2022). "Florence + the Machine – 'Free'". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Florence + the Machine dedicates new music video filmed in Kyiv to Ukrainians". 22 April 2022.
  16. ^ Renshaw, David (9 December 2022). "Ethel Cain joins Florence + The Machine on "Morning Elvis"". The Fader. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  17. ^ a b Brown, Helen (12 May 2022). "Florence and the Machine review, Dance Fever: Wonderful wildness from the most thrilling pop star of her generation". The Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  18. ^ a b Bennett, Eric (9 May 2022). "Florence + The Machine Cry Freedom on Dance Fever". Paste. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  19. ^ Oddy, Guy (11 May 2022). "Album: Florence + the Machine – Dance Fever". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  20. ^ Cabré, Alex (13 May 2022). "Album: Florence + the Machine – Dance Fever". Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  21. ^ a b c McCormick, Neil (13 May 2022). "Florence gets Dance Fever". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Dance Fever by Florence + The Machine reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Dance Fever by Florence + the Machine Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  24. ^ a b c Yeung, Neil Z. (13 May 2022). "Dance Fever – Florence + the Machine". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  25. ^ a b McDonald, Sophia (12 May 2022). "Florence + The Machine – Dance Fever". Clash. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  26. ^ Ackroyd, Stephen (11 May 2022). "Florence + The Machine – Dance Fever". Dork. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  27. ^ Harbron, Lucy (11 May 2022). "Album Review: Florence + the Machine – Dance Fever". Gigwise. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  28. ^ Inscoe-Jones, Liam (10 May 2022). "Florence + the Machine shake up the formula on the joyous and personal Dance Fever". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  29. ^ Williams, Sophie (12 May 2022). "Florence + The Machine – 'Dance Fever' review: the triumphant sound of a singer reborn". NME. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  30. ^ Blum, Dani (13 May 2022). "Florence and the Machine: Dance Fever Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  31. ^ Smith, Carl (20 May 2022). "Florence + The Machine earn fourth UK Number 1 album with Dance Fever". Official Charts. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  32. ^ Brandie, Lars (17 May 2022). "Florence + The Machine's 'Dance Fever' Is Heading to U.K. No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
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  38. ^ "Lista prodaje 21. tjedan 2022" (in Croatian). Top of the Shops. 31 May 2022. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  39. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Florence %2B the Machine – Dance Fever" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  40. ^ "Florence + the Machine: Dance Fever" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  41. ^ "Lescharts.com – Florence %2B the Machine – Dance Fever". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
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  45. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Florence %2B the Machine". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  46. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Florence %2B the Machine – Dance Fever". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
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