Single Review: Florence & The Machine – ‘What Kind Of Man’
2 min read
Florence & The Machine are back! The long wait for new material is over, the indie rock band treating us to a surprise new single, What Kind Of Man. I say surprise, but I may very well have been the only person that hadn’t heard the rumblings that Florence and the gang had something in the works. Fans have been waiting patiently for new stuff from the band that made waves in 2011 with second studio album, Ceremonials featuring the wildly successful Shake It Out and Never Let Me Go. Finally, we can hear their new stuff with the first single off upcoming album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful hitting the airwaves this week.
What Kind Of Man is a package deal, with the video as inviting and important as the track itself. It tells the story of a volatile relationship, a man sweeping a woman off her feet and leaving her no leg to stand on. She starts by posing the question “So you think the people who suffer together would be connected than people who are content?” and he answers simply, “Yeah I do.” This sets the scene for the opening of the track, the moody turmoil, soft and nakedly stripped back, posing an ominous fear and the heartbreaking question What Kind Of Man Loves Like This?
For a moment, the song teeters on the edge of devastation and revolution, and Florence being the Queen she is, vehemently chooses revolution. The uprising is sensational, the melancholy, pensive intro giving way to rock-heavy guitar riffs and gospel backing vocals. Florence fights back against the anguish in her fiery, soaring vocals and chants the catch phrase in the spirit of igniting a movement, the heart breaking question of before becoming an accusation rather than a cry. What kind of man loves like this? / What kind of man? / What kind of man loves like this? / What kind of man?
Often such a wait for music from artists thought so highly of is met with a little disappointment. The longer the wait, the higher the build up. But not here. Florence & The Machine have absolutely delivered and if this is a taste of what is to come on the new record I don’t know how I’m going to wait until June.
