Florence + The Machine have released a surprise new single entitled King, after teasing its release on the band’s social media.
The single is the first new music released by the band, fronted by Florence Welch, in almost two years.
The song hears Welch, 35, grappling with the idea of gender and womanhood as she repeatedly declares “I am no mother, I am no bride – I am king”.
Speaking about the new release, Welch said: “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.”
A new music video by Autumn de Wilde, who directed the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, has also been released to accompany King.
In the video, Welch is seen dressed in a purple cloak levitating above the ground, with a man standing below her before she later breaks his neck.
The band’s last album, High As Hope, was released in June 2018.
In April 2020, they released the song Light Of Love in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The track was originally recorded for High As Hope and the band later revealed that all proceeds from the song would be donated to the Intensive Care Society.
In April 2021, Welch announced that she would be writing the music and lyrics for a stage adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which is set to run on Broadway.