Florence Welch returns in royal form with Florence and the Machine’s new gender-challenging song “King.”
Backed by a heavy bass line and sparse textures, Welch proudly howls “I am no mother, I am no bride … I am king,” as an orchestra joins the composition before she closes with the revealing verse “I was never as good as I always thought I was/But I knew how to dress it up.”
In a statement about the new composition Florence stated: “As an artist, I never actually thought about my gender that much,” “I just got on with it. I was as good as the men and I just went out there and matched them every time. But now, thinking about being a woman in my 30s and the future, I suddenly feel this tearing of my identity and my desires. That to be a performer, but also to want a family might not be as simple for me as it is for my male counterparts. I had modelled myself almost exclusively on male performers, and for the first time I felt a wall come down between me and my idols as I have to make decisions they did not.”
Directed by Autumn de Wilde (Emma) the “King” video is a typically attention-grabbing Florence image as the ? artist floats about, clothed in royal purple robe as her courtiers dance behind her while the orchestra floats in suspended animation.
“King” marks Florence and the Machine’s first new song of 2022 following last year’s “Call Me Cruella” for the soundtrack to Disney’s Cruella, and prior releases “Light of Love,” “Moderation,” and “Haunted House.”
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Jason Persse