'you're my second favourite frontman': f+atm's sixth album begs the question - what, exactly, do artists owe us?
or: everybody scream album review!!
Does death ever really teach us anything? If so, then what is? Is it's wisdom really worth the sacrifice? These are some of the questions which have been asked by humanity over and over again, for as long as we've existed. They're questions which have been explored and 'answered' time and time again. They're also questions which Florence Welch and her band dance around in their newest album, Everybody Scream.
Death is everywhere in the band's sixth record, whether it's that of loved ones, peers, family members, or their own. It's treated like something of a transformation, something which rips you from regular life and sends you back changed. In the case of front woman Florence Welch it really did - her emergency surgery and it's near fatal consequences are the driving force behind her newest album, where she surveys both her current legacy and the one she hopes to leave behind - greatness. Welch spells out her ambitions plainly in the album's second track, claiming that she wishes to be in the hall with the "hundred greatest records of all time". Hopefully, she isn't submitting this particular album for that honour - Everybody Scream is good, but not quite good enough.
Or, more accurately; this album is great. It's phenomenal by ordinary standards. But Florence Welch is no ordinary artist, and when comparing her newest album to her other works, it pales in comparisons to the richness of 2015 How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, and is practically blown away by 2022's truly iconic Dance Fever. But this challenge in itself speaks to the sheer skill in Welch's work, that her biggest and most difficult competition is herself, is her own talent. It also begs the question - what do we, as the audience, get to decide is great? And what do artists owe us in terms of quality? Is it not enough that Welch was able to deliver a great album? Does she need to live up to her own potential to deserve her audience? Do we, as the audience, need to keep raising our standards? Is it her responsibility to meet them? Maybe not - maybe an artist's first responsibility is to ensure that what they're making is refreshing, then entertaining, then good. Art, fundamentally, is about entertainment - it's about making sure that people stay to watch, to enjoy. And fans of Welch will enjoy this record very much indeed.
SONG RANKING:
Kraken
2. One Of The Greats
3. Music by Men
4. Everybody Scream
5. You Can Have It All
6. Witch Dance
7. Perfume and Milk
8. Buckle
9. The Old Religion
10. And Love
11. Drink Deep
12. Sympathy Magic
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