There’s a strand of artistry right now that’s revelling in a long-broiling sense of female rage and rebuttal - from Self Esteem’s recent Handmaid’s Tale-nodding live show to the similarly physical dance numbers in the Amanda Seyfried-starring The Testament of Ann Lee. A decade ago, people might have dismissed it as ‘witchy’ - as many did when Florence Welch herself evolved from sparkly, flower crown-toting youth to something more complex and mature. But this particular corner of performance is rooted in an aesthetic that’s not just a bit mystical but purposefully less palatable and decidedly not for the male gaze: twisted, ugly movements; un-pretty ideas. As Welch intones at the end of One Of The Greats to resounding cheers from the women in the room: “It’s funny how men don’t find power very sexy / So this one’s for the ladies…”
Playing the first of two sold out nights at The O2 Arena, this is the backbone to which the Everybody Scream tour is pinned. It’s Florence + The Machine’s darkest and most powerful show to date: a fitting manifestation of a weighty album about mortality and acceptance, mid-life and motherhood, trauma, success, desire and more, all created in the wake of an ectopic pregnancy that nearly killed the author at its centre.
