Dance Fever: Album Review

I’m coming at you quick with an album review for another album that dropped 2 months ago. I was in DC at the time seeing HAIM and on the brink of an EDC Las Vegas departure when it was released. I will say I was about to order the album at one point when I realized after receiving a copy in the mail, I must have pre-ordered it earlier in the year. I honestly forgot amidst all the things I had going on and patted myself on the back for that one. I have yet to sit down and really listen to the album in full though. It’s mostly because I’ve been distracted by the band Wallows, who I got into after seeing at Coachella. I’ve been in a huge Wallows phase since Coachella Weekend 1 and it’s still yet to let up. In fact I’ll be seeing them for the 5th time in 4 months next week! Let’s get back to Florence though.

Dance Fever is Florence + the Machine’s fifth studio album. Their last studio album was released in 2018. I have to say I was excited for new music for one of my favorite groups, headed by female indie pop vocalist Florence Welch. I expected an album with a title like Dance Fever to be full energy upbeat tracks all the time, but it really isn’t. There’s a few bops like “Free”, “My Love,” and “Choreomania”, but many slower, chill, entrancing melodies like “The Bomb”, “Good Morning Elvis”, and “Girls Against God.”

Dance Fever is a solid indie pop/rock album from a group that has been putting out similar albums since 2009. Florence’s vocals drive this album, especially on the interludes and the other slower tracks. I’m not shocked though as her vocals really drive all their music.

I don’t think this is one of Florence + the Machine’s best albums though. Their earlier albums are a force to be reckoned with. Dance Fever is promising though with several great songs that deserve plenty of praise and hype. “King” is one of those from the album. I plan on spending more time listening to the album, but I’m sure a Wallows song will pop in to my head and I’ll revert back to listening to them again. That seems to be a theme lately. Florence + the Machine are embarking on a fall tour in support of the album starting in September. I’m disappointed to say I won’t be able to make a show this time around due to work obligations. If you get the chance though, I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to see Florence and her machine. I also don’t think you should pass up the chance to listen to their latest record, despite it not being one of their best in my opinion. I’m sure you’ll find something you love and can dance to on it. It’s Dance Fever after all.

Palaces: Album Review

It’s been about two months since I last updated, which was not my intention. Life has been busy and at times I’ve been distracted. I have some long overdue album reviews to do though. One of the albums dropped on May 20th. It’s Flume’s third full length, Palaces.

Palaces is Flume’s first album in 6 years. His last record came in 2016 with Skin. His latest brings more of electronic/future bass sound filled with collaborations and original mixes. For me, there isn’t a stand out track on this album, but there’s a few solid tracks that I think we’ll hear during live sets in the future. One of those songs is “Say Nothing” featuring MAY-A. I would add “Highest Building” featuring Oklou to the list as well. There’s several solo Flume tracks that are similar to past hits like “Wall Fuck”, “Helix”, “Holdin’ On”, or “Ezra,” but in general I don’t think any of these will quite hit as strongly. I do enjoy “DHLC” and “Love Light” though.

Overall I don’t think this is Flume’s best album, but a decent comeback after 6 years of nothing but a mixtape and a few stand alone singles that have become staples on the Flume set list. None the less, Flume is out promoting this album by playing the festival circuit while mixing in some shows in between. He has a fall tour lined up with select cities in the U.S. followed by a European tour. I was lucky enough to catch him both weekends of Coachella and part of his set at Bonnaroo just last month. He still puts on a great set with a mix of new tunes and old favorites. Though I do recommend listening to this new record, I wouldn’t spend a ton of time on it. Give it a listen or two, pick out some favorites, save them or add them to a playlist for the future, and move on, or better yet, listen to all the old Flume bangers while you’re at it. “Holdin’ On” still hits as hard as it did 10 years ago, but “Sirens” just isn’t there.