The title of Florence + the Machine’s fifth album, Dance Fever is a bit of a misnomer, as it’s unlikely that it will ever come to soundtrack anyone losing themselves and their inhibitions on the dancefloor. In fact, it’s unlikely that many will feel moved to dance to these tunes at all, unless their steps have been very heavily choreographed.
Gone is the spirited hippy with the fog-horn voice of “Hurricane Drunk” and “What Kind of Man”, and in her place there has appeared a considerably more measured artist who argues “in the kitchen about whether to have children”. Still, middle age catches up with all of us. Whether this necessarily requires a swerve into over-produced studio cleverness and pop-prog flavours with precious little wild release is moot, though. In fact, this is a question that Florence Welch raises herself when she reflects that “being clever never got me very far” on recent single, “Free”.
Dance Fever has a multi-layered, instrumental approach that lays down a lush wall of sound with hand-clapping percussion, plenty of synths and even the occasional violin. It’s all a bit proggy, at times a bit folky, very atmospheric and quintessentially English in many ways. Something that is emphatically reinforced by the album’s faux Pre-Raphaelite cover art.
At its best, Dance Fever reflects an almost Kate Bush-like approach to song writing and production but elsewhere, it could just as easily be accused of taking on the mantle of late-period Eurythmics. It could also be said to frequently lapse into self-obsession and to lack heart – which given what Florence has previously released, is a bit disappointing. Perhaps this is due the Covid-induced listlessness that has sapped more than a few artists of inspiration though? If so, let’s hope some sustained touring will reinvigorate her muse for next time’s visit to the recording studio.