Everybody Scream Initial Thoughts
Okay, took me a moment to get to this record, but here I am now.
Everybody Scream - I immediately loved this. Chorus is so good, the ritual of this live is going to be insane, love the groove, perfect way to bridge Dance Fever and this record. The choral outro hits, perfect. Still one of my fave tracks even after listening to the whole record.
One of the Greats - genuinely one of my fave Flo songs, I still remember how i felt in my stomach when she said "it must be nice to be a man/and make boring music just because you can". I know she said it's half joking, but there's a heat to this that I don't think you can totally joke away. I love the dirty fuzzy guitar, the crashing drums, the punk edge to it all. And of course, a good Buffy reference. It's a journey I love taking.
Witch Dance - I don't know what the fuck is going on here I love it. I wish it stayed as groovy and uptempo as the first bit. I love how warm and 70s the bass feels on these first three tracks, This one also has some of the coolest background screaming/vocals/etc. This is probably the most Nick Cave-esque song she's ever written, which I'm down for.
Sympathy Magic - lyrically some of my most personal favorite of her lyrics, the music I can go back and forth on though, there's an airiness to it that I think needs just a little more punch, but I think that impact will come when it is played live, so I'm looking forward to that. But "I no longer try to be good, it didn't protect me like you told me that it would" made me burst into tears the first I heard it and I love the visuals for this. A weird single choice but I adore it. Also some of the most bombastic Florence vocals in a minute which is great.
Perfume and Milk - the most direct song about healing on this album, in both a physical and spiritual way, the non-linear and transformative journey of that. I feel like this is the first little tiny taste of the body horror that comes into this album, one of its most compelling themes. I also would love to see this one take off a little more live, get a little rowdier. Florence's low range on this song is awesome.
Buckle - Mitski has a co-writing credit on this as well and I definitely hear it. I do think it is the most plainly worded and maybe "contemporary" song on the record, but I do really like it, and it feels like Dance Fever track The Bomb's older sister. I do think the imagery is fantastic, it has a nice drive to it, and I like the double entendre of the buckle in it. How you gonna leave Florence on read for three days? I also like hearing "I feel like I'm too old for this" in a song by Florence, growing older with her has been such a gift, and something about her acknowledging that passage of time really hit me deeply.
Kraken - I love the more overt body horror here, Florence has been trying to leave her body on every record she's ever made and this is one of the more obvious takes on that (besides like, you know, Leave My Body). I like the idea of her growing into this monstrous protective creature that takes vengeance for the years of music business bullshit against women and personal anger at the prison of flesh. There's so much of being "too big for the space" on Everybody Scream and I looooooove it, I love Florence embracing the bigness of her sound, her voice, her emotions, and her ideas, something that a lot of people have knocked her for over the years personally and professionally, but it really has always been one of her biggest strengths.
The Old Religion - maaaan this one just got me. Trying to reclaim yourself with the world and yourself are so upside down, knowing that wherever you go that you have to be there with yourself, and the body wanting what it wants. There's so much to dig into with these lyrics, I love the strings, more big drums which are always welcome, just a wonderful cathartic release.
Drink Deep - one of the most witchy pieces on an album deeply inspired by witches, there's a real sense of foreboding on this and I love this. A metaphor rooted in a really dark narrative. The visuals released so far really connect with this song too, I'd bet there will be some sort of music video for this even though I don't see it doing much as a single, but there's so much good visual language to get into, I want it so badly. Give me more ominous Florence! It's always so good! (This also feels like a grown-up Blinding in a few ways to me). I would love an extended take on the choral arrangement at the end too, it's so beautiful.
Music By Men - Tonally a softer exploration of some of the themes of One of the Greats, and it feels a little abrupt especially since the last three tracks are some of her most occult inspired work. But I think the melodies here are very beautiful, and this falls into that very personal and ocasionally on the nose thing that Florence has delved into at least a couple of times on her last few records, and it does always initially feel abrupt, but I usually end up loving the song very much (The Bomb, No Choir). There's some great subtle strings on this song that I really enjoyed too. There's so many of her really dearest hopes on this song, that are heartbreaking too. "Let me put out a record and not have it ruin my life" hits much deeper when you knowing that she lost a pregnancy (and very nearly, her life) while singing "I am no mother, I am no bride, I am King" last year.
You Can Have It All - I cried for this one, the seed of the record is here. "I used to think I knew what sadness was, I was wrong" is just gutwrenching. And "Am I a woman now?". It hurts. The build is stellar, a great big chorus that reaches great heights, the strings are great, love that guitar feedback rumble, some of the best SCREAMS of Everybody Scream, one of the most musically interesting here, paired with yet more sharp lyricism that not only expounds on Florence's tumultuous last few years, but also taps into that collective howl with that one sentence chorus of YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL. Brilliant. A new fave. I love the heavy crash of this chorus so much. I wish it had a little more of an outro, but this is a career high for her.
And Love - ending with a beautiful tranquil piece, which feels very cathartic indeed after such a dark and painful album. Redefining love as you get older is something I've been thinking of a lot lately as I get older, and it's nice to know that Florence has been pondering that too. More like resting than running indeed. And I really hope for her sake that peace in her personal life is indeed coming. I love the electronic and the harp playing off of each other in the instrumental. It feels like twinkling lights. Cannot wait to hear this live too. It also feels a little abrupt, but a good epilogue to an immense album.
Altogether, yeah, it's a banger. It's fucking great. Also, she should get to go this one with orchestra too. I don't make the rules, let Anna Lapwood on the organ play that Everybody Scream intro and I'll leave my body before Florence even opens her mouth.
I think Dance Fever is more immediate pop, but Everybody Scream is an ALBUM experience and one that I will take many more times. I like seeing Florence reckon with not only the personal, but also the career stuff here, it never feels too "annoying inside baseball", especially for a woman who has really been carrying her genre on her back with very little credit.
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