ALBUM OF THE WEEK

DANCE FEVER

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE ★★★★I While recent albums have seemed a vehicle for Florence Welch’s voice, Dance Fever injects some of the dynamic songwriting of her 2009 debut Lungs.

Album opener King is driven by a rumbling bassline and uses empty space to elevate Welch’s folksy vocal runs, while tracks like Free use synths and driving melodies to create a euphoric climax.

Welch’s media-shyness may have created an image of po-faced seriousness, but on Dance Fever she pokes fun at herself, introducing the track Choreomania with a monologue in which she knowingly describes “freaking out in the middle of the street with the conviction of someone who has never had anything really bad happen to them”. The song refers to the ‘dancing plague’ across Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries.

It’s an album of dramatic highs, vulnerable lows, and a reminder that going back to basics can reap rewards.