High As Hope, the new album from Florence + the Machine, is set for release June 29 on Republic Records. The first official single, “Hunger,” has premiered and is accompanied by a new video directed from A.G. Rojas; watch it here.
LISTEN TO “HUNGER” HERE
PRE-ORDER HIGH AS HOPE HERE
“This song is about the ways we look for love in things that are perhaps not love, and how attempts to feel less alone can sometimes isolate us more,” says Florence. “I guess I made myself more vulnerable in this song to encourage connection, because perhaps a lot more of us feel this way than we are able to admit. Sometimes when you can’t say it, you can sing it.”
Florence wrote, co-produced (her first time co-producing a Florence + the Machine album) and recorded the majority of High As Hope in solitude, cycling to her studio in Peckham every day.
She finished the songs in Los Angeles with her friend and co-producer Emile Haynie, bringing in Kamasi Washington, Sampha, Tobias Jesso Jr, Kelsey Lu and Jamie xx as further collaborators. Florence mixed the record in New York, where the daily view of the skyline—often in stark contrast to the chaos of the wider world—gave the album its title.
Florence writes of growing up in South London, of family, relationships and art itself. “There’s a lot of love in this record, loneliness too, but a lot of love,” says Florence.
She continues, “It’s always a work in progress, and I definitely don’t have everything figured out. But this feels like quite a pure expression of who I am now, as an artist, and an honest one. I’m just more comfortable with who I am.”
Meanwhile, Florence + the Machine will play a few shows this month. Welch’s first book, Useless Magic, is out this summer. A collection of lyrics, artwork and poetry offering a unique, personal insight into her creative process, it is set for release July 5 via Crown Publishing/Penguin.
Live dates:
May 13 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Academy of Music
May 14 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Academy of Music
May 21 Los Angeles, CA Walt Disney Concert Hall
Track listing:
1. June
2. Hunger
3. South London Forever
4. Big God
5. Sky Full of Song
6. Grace
7. Patricia
8. 100 Years
9. The End of Love
10. No Choir
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