Atwood Magazine’s writers dive into Florence + the Machine’s haunting and cathartic sixth album ‘Everybody Scream’ – a spellbinding “record of catastrophe” steeped in witchcraft and visceral release – exploring its raw reflections on trauma, feminine rage, and the primal power of reclaiming your voice.
Featured here are Atwood writers Ashley Littlefield, Brian Denney, Dimitra Gurduiala, Kaiana Lee, and Marc Maleri!
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To start, what is your relationship with Florence + the Machine’s music?
Ashley Littlefield: In college, I fondly recall walking the Polo Fields at Coachella with friends, belting out “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.” We supported each other, embracing the desert together. Florence Welch’s songwriting captures the essence of poetry. Her 2015 Coachella performance inspired me – she performed through a broken foot, showing that the show must go on.
Kaiana Lee: In middle school I was introduced to the album Lungs. Needless to say, that was a complete reset for me. “Cosmic Love” ruled my world and my mom suffered at me screaming and singing the track all hours of the day. Her music became a part of my musical development in a way. Helping develop the music taste I have now.
Marc Maleri: A lot like Kaiana, I’ve been enamoured with this red-headed witchy woman since my tween years when Lungs released. Her music has always felt so grand and cinematic and was perfect for the kind of kids that were stuck in their own day dreams and fantasies. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve only come to grow closer to Florence + The Machine’s musical output – there wasn’t much for 11-year-old me to relate to on Lungs, but with each progressive release, I began to finally appreciate the masterful lyricism alongside the band’s fantastic arrangements and production. Florence + The Machine remains one of my favorites to this day.
Brian Denney: “Dog Days Are Over” was a staple on my middle school iPod Nano. But my real love for Florence + the Machine started in 2015, when I saw her on the How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful tour. There was nothing like it – Florence belting her heart out while jumping around all over the stage. She told the crowd she’d recently injured herself jumping off a stage while taking her shirt off, and that it had limited her mobility – but not enough to keep her from diving right back into the crowd that night (gracefully, of course). I’ve never forgotten it, and I haven’t missed a tour or album since.
Dimitra Gurduiala: It’s kind of funny to remember, but one of my very first encounters with Florence’s music was discovering “Never Let Me Go,” because it had inspired a fan fiction story that I was very attached to when I was, like, 11? I obviously listened to other works in the meantime, including “Dog Days Are Over” and the cover of “Shake It Out” on Glee, that made me listen to her more and more. I even got to know my best friend thanks to her music, which I will be forever grateful for. Her and the project as a whole have a very special place in my heart.
What are your initial impressions and reactions to Everybody Scream?
Ashley: The album’s guitar work stands out – electric distortion fuels “One of the Greats,” while “Sympathy Magic” offers raw acoustic tones. The result bursts with energy. Everybody Scream is her most emotionally descriptive work, pushing creative boundaries.
Kaiana: The lyricism stood out to me immediately. Florence Welch puts words together in such a unique way. A poetic expression of intense emotional release. Her work puts these complex feelings into Everybody Scream. Painting images so clearly of pain, rage and discomfort. Something as simple as screaming means so much to fighting through trauma and taking control of your own mind again.
Marc: This project feels like one Florence Welch’s most moody, heartbreakingly honest records yet. On my first listen, I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get tons of songs as energetic and rageful as the title track (cathartic, screaming Florence is admittedly my favorite archetype of her’s). After taking a deeper look into the lyricism, I had a whole new appreciation for the bravery and strength it must have taken to create this album. You can palpably feel Welch’s pain on tracks like “You Can Have It All” and “Witch Dance,” tracks that explore the traumatic events that happened to her over the last few years. While all Florence + The Machine records are pensive, this one in particular took things to a whole new level of brutal honesty, and it reflects and fits with the dreary atmosphere on some of these songs.
Brian: I’ve had the album on repeat since it dropped. It leans into everything Florence does best – loud, cathartic bursts like the title track and “Kraken,” woven between softer, more intimate moments like “Buckle” and “Sympathy Magic.”
Dimitra: It may sound cheesy, but listening to it felt (and feels!) like pure catharsis. It’s deeply emotional, it explores trauma and the strength necessary to go through it all. In some way it’s painful, but I can’t not be engaged into it; feels like a rageful therapy session (in a good way).
How does this album compare to 2022’s Dance Fever, and the rest of the band’s discography – what are the most striking similarities or differences?
Ashley: Everybody Scream embodies a feminine magic of healing through a range of experiences with pain and self-reliance in relationships and power dynamics, while holding accountability for growth and expression. Dance Fever is an exploration of the healing journey, with vocals that emotionally echo as it pushes through the mundane. Both albums spark a connection with mysticism and soulful narrative.
Kaiana: Everybody Scream is a ritual tapping into raw feminine energy to fight through trauma and find catharsis through a scream. The previous record, Dance Fever acts as almost a precursor utilizing this same energy through dance and song before the primal scream needed to find complete peace. The albums are sisters in a way, with the title track “Everybody Scream” connecting the two. “Everybody Dance, Everybody Sing, Everybody Move, Everybody Scream” moving from music to the basic need to scream. Both deal with similar topics of trauma, feminine rage, and pain. Fighting through these situations with witchy incantations, music, and feverish movement.
Marc: In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Welch said, “Dance Fever was like a record about prophecy . . . and then I guess this record is a record of catastrophe.” Even to casual listeners who wouldn’t know the backstory of Everybody Scream or Dance Fever, that much is clear just through how the songs themselves sound. Dance Fever feels much more grand in its production, intense prophetic moments of melodrama and booming choruses on motherhood, love, and the pandemic that took Welch away from the stage and performance, something she’s said is deeply important to her and her well-being. Everybody Scream comes after the events of the Dance Fever tour where she suffered through an ectopic miscarriage onstage. Everybody Scream certainly embodies that catastrophe in its quiet, albeit haunting sadness. Just describing it as “dark” feels trite, but out of the whole of their discography, there hasn’t been a Florence + The Machine record this dreary since Ceremonials.
Brian: A friend texted me that is “everything she thought Dance Fever was going to be,” and that perspective really resonated with me. Dance Fever had several very beautiful songs, but Everybody Scream plays through better as an album. Its sound feels more cohesive and its message gets more pointed as each track progresses. For me, this feels like the most focused album from Florence + the Machine since How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.
Dimitra: I agree with Brian, I liked Dance Fever, but Everybody Scream feels more coherent and cohesive. Reminds me much of Ceremonials like Marc said, even though I’d say this one is more full of rage. It feels like the climax that Dance Fever deserves, the primal scream finally being released.
Florence + the Machine teased Everybody Scream with “Everybody Scream,” “One of the Greats,” and “Sympathy Magic.” Are these singles faithful representations of the album?
Ashley: Absolutely! The three singles enrich the album’s structure, guiding the listener through the LP while offering distinct instrumental variations that shape the experience.
Kaiana: Yes! These three tracks display the energy behind the record. They tell the story of pain and finding power within yourself which is one of the central themes of the record.
Marc: I’d definitely say so, and “Everybody Scream” is one the most emblematic title tracks I’ve heard in a long time. It feels like we begin the record with the horror of what happened to her on this song and it perfectly sets up everything that follows and the complexities of what she’s been through (“Blood on the stage / But how can I leave you when you’re screaming my name?”).
Brian: Can’t help but agree with everyone else here, these tracks gave listeners a great glimpse into what the full album would sound like. It was interesting to me because the singles felt all so different when I first heard them independently, but in the context of the full album it all makes sense and works perfectly together.
Dimitra: Hate to be repetitive but yes, I agree with what everyone else said before me! They manage to beautifully (and screamingly) describe the catharsis that anyone can go through listening to the record, and set the standard for the other songs, both musically and lyrically.
Florence Welch has said this record was shaped by a near-fatal ectopic pregnancy and its aftermath. Everybody Scream stands on the threshold between life and death, human and animal, science and magic, power and vulnerability. Does this capture the spirit of these songs, and where do you hear or feel it most?
Ashley: Welch voices her experience as she navigates the pain through her vivid lyrics and voice. “The Old Religion” and “Music by Men” explore vulnerability and power dynamics that feel deeply personal.
Kaiana: “Witch Dance” the track speaks of sexual desire and vulnerability. She begins the track with laying down with death but feeling life through the feeling of her lover’s embrace. Ripping through life and death in sexuality while feverishly searching for direction from her human body to something more. She dabbles in all of these concepts in just one track.
Marc: Like I said, I can definitely hear the influence her fatal experience had on this record. From the desperation of “The Old Religion” to the hope on “And Love,” this album is constantly reckoning with the veil between the living and the dead and how to navigate coming back to the living once you almost crossed that boundary.
Brian: Leave it to Florence to describe her work in such dramatic terms, and yet it somehow feels right on the nose. I hear the contrast most as the album transitions from track six “Buckle” to track seven “Kraken.” On “Buckle,” co-written by Mitski, you get a beautiful melody and softness from the acoustic guitar, with heartbreaking lyrics about navigating relationships. Right as this softness ends, Florence brings in the aptly named “Kraken,” one of the loudest, heaviest, and most dramatic sounding tracks of the album. The way she plays with contrast really brings the feelings that she is trying to convey to life.
Dimitra: I’d say mainly “The Old Religion,” with the feeling of being tired of being still and wanting to release, crush or kill something. I also felt a lot of dread, power and vulnerability in “Drink Deep,” which I (just now) discovered is about the sacrifices brought by ambition and performance. Very fitting in the themes of the record.
Welch has also framed Everybody Scream as a Halloween release – a record steeped in witchcraft, magic, and ritual. In what ways does that spookiness reveal itself to you?
Ashley: “Witch Dance” creates a rhythmic vocal pattern with wispy breaths and high soprano pitches that draw the listener into an atmosphere of alchemy, transcending any sorrows to the grave. “Old Religion” curates ominous piano keys and dark, layered drums into the production, creating a romantic gothic dream.
Kaiana: The instrumentation absolutely lends itself to a spookier atmosphere. Each track feels like different incantations all building toward a common goal. Welch’s use of her voice is nearly hypnotic, dancing between breathless and dark and powerful. She rides the weight of the drums and guitar using her voice as the power behind each song. It’s evident in each track but Perfume and Milk feels the most witchy and haunting. Capturing a sense of waiting and building power before release.
Marc: I feel as though witchiness has always been an inherent part of Florence + The Machine’s music, but it’s fully embraced on this album. From the panicked breathes and haunting lyrics that personify death on “Witch Dance” to screams and howls interspersed throughout the record’s entirety, Welch embodied the spooky elements within her music to the fullest extent.
Dimitra: Well, first of all, “Drink Deep” is a sinister metaphor inspired by old English and Irish folk tales, so I’d say it represents spookiness pretty well. I’d also include “Witch Dance” and “Kraken”; one feels like a spell, the other one like a proper collective ritual.
Which song(s) stand out for you on the album, and why?
Ashley: “One of the Greats” really sets it apart for me, personally and sonically, with its guitar intro’s mystic crunch and emotional lyrics that gallantly lead as an inspiring strength. “Music by Men” resonates with its acoustic chord progression and raw honesty in the LP.
Kaiana: “Perfume and Milk,” “You Can Have It All,” and “Drink Deep” grabbed my attention on first listen. The emotional power from each of these tracks comes packaged in different ways. “Drink Deep” has a more soft approach to the feelings presented in the record while “You Can Have It All” and ” Perfume and Milk” make big waves in expressing the back and forth Welch represents on the record.
Marc: “Witch Dance” and “Kraken” have been the songs I’ve had on repeat. They sound absolutely beautiful, “Witch Dance” embodying the dreary melodrama expertly and “Kraken” is a welcome Lungs-esque track that brought in some much needed levity on the record. I’d be lying though if I said I don’t have every song saved off this album.
Brian: There’s a lot to choose from here, but “One of the Greats” and “The Old Religion” are two tracks that really show off both Florence’s larger than life vocals and her brilliant songwriting.
Dimitra: “One of the Greats” and “Buckle.” The latter one in particular, it’s pretty simple but hits just right the weaker parts of my heart.
Do you have any favorite lyrics so far? Which lines stand out?
Ashley: “Let it be us, let it be home / Falling asleep and not looking at our phone,” in “Music by Men.” Additionally, a verse in “Perfume and Milk,” in “Oh, the hope and the horror, singing daffodils again.”
Kaiana: “Dug a hole in the garden and buried a scream/ And from it grew a bright red tree/ Shining with jagged leaves” in “You Can Have It All” and the lyric, “Miracles are often inconvenient/ And a prayer is a spell/ and I am changing becoming something else” in “Perfume and Milk”
Marc: I know I can’t say every lyric off this record is my favorite (it’s truly jam-packed with fantastic writing and imagery), but this set of lyrics from “Witch Dance” talking about what I can assume is generational trauma is fantastic, “Ran to the ancestral plane / But they all showed up drunk and insane / When I asked what I could offer them / They said, ‘Gin and tonic or lithium’ / I asked, ‘Which way should I go?’ / And through cigarette smoke, they said / ‘Child, how would we know?’”
Brian: We would be remiss to not bring up the most headlining-grabbing lyrics on the album off of “Music by Men” – “Breaking my bones, getting four out of five / Listening to a song by The 1975 / I thought, ‘f* it, I might as well give music by men a try.’” It’s a wild thing to put in a song, but it’s also hilarious and nails the point that Florence is looking to make here.
Dimitra: All “And Love,” honestly, but especially “And love was not what I thought it was / It crept up on me despite myself / And it was not a love song, it was something else / More like surrendering to something / And more like resting than running.” It’s real, it’s perfect.
Where do you feel Everybody Scream sits in the pantheon of Florence + the Machine’s discography?
Ashley: Everybody Scream is an emotionally evolved album, with strong instrumental performances that are poetically enriching and beautiful.
Kaiana: Everybody Scream is Florence + the Machine’s strongest work. Lyrically and sonically creating a narrative of self reflection and navigating trauma in a hauntingly poetic experience that at times feels more like spoken word than traditional song. The power behind the record is unmatched and aligns itself with their earlier works but with a flair that can only be found through years of experience and maturity.
Marc: Out of all the Florence + The Machine records, this one is going to be the record that changes the most with each listen. Welch often speaks in metaphor and the fantastical throughout her records, but I think there’s a delightfully overwhelming amount of honesty on Everybody Scream while still maintaining that mystical element. It’s without a doubt one of the band’s most complex, spooky, and emotionally intense records. I think this one in specific will be paired with Dance Fever to timestamp a very specific era in Welch’s career, one where she embraced her mysticism, strength in adversity, and deep meditations on the female experience.
Brian: Artistically, this is certainly one of Florence’s best albums to date. It delivers everything you would want from a Florence record – booming vocals, raw and emotional lyrics, moving storytelling. It doesn’t feel like there’s a song in here that is going to shatter the Billboard Hot 100 charts, so it will be interesting to see how the album holds up over time (a discussion I hope we revisit at an Atwood roundtable for her seventh studio album). All in all, it’s a great album and one that I’ll be listening to for a while.
Dimitra: I have no idea where it sits precisely, but I do think it’s one of Florence’s best works, I’d even say the best one since How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. I enjoyed High as Hope and Dance Fever, but Everybody Scream is just something else.
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:: stream/purchase Everybody Scream here ::
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Stream: “Buckle” – Florence + the Machine
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📸 © Autumn de Wilde
Everybody Scream
an album by Florence + The Machine
