Florence explores new sounds on upcoming third record

Florence + the Machine are in the midst of the promotion of their upcoming third album called How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. In February, Florence Welch and her band launched their immense comeback single ‘What Kind Of Man’ with loud vocals and a whirlwind of a chorus. The second track to be taken from the new album, ‘St. Jude’, is kind of the opposite and seems to function as the calm after the storm.

On her previous records Lungs and especially Ceremonials, Florence showcased a bombastic style with big productions and larger than life belting, but she toned all of this down for ‘St. Jude’ which seems like a completely new direction for her. The production and instrumentation of the song are quite understated and her vocal performance could be considered as restrained, which in this case actually helps to get the message across.

The lyrics are quite a poetic story and are beautifully delivered by the crystal clear voice of Welch. The song has a moody atmosphere, but at the same time breathes a pleasant serenity. The only slight criticism I could come up with here, is that the song is not particularly strong as a single, as it lacks a proper chorus or any catchy hook that makes it stand out, but as an album track that could also be seen as a meaningful interlude, it definitely does its job. I’m sure it will make even more sense in context to the rest of How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, that will be released in the first week of June.