Florence and the Machine are officially back and just as good as ever. Today (Feb. 12), after a four year absence from releasing new music, Florence Welch and co. officially announced the Ceremonials follow-up How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful and released the first single, "What Kind of Man."
"What Kind of Man" first debuted on Zane Lowes' BBC Radio 1 show, and it's just as epic as fans of the band have come to expect. The song begins slowly, with Welch and a deeper voice layered on top of each other, chanting over a swell of strings quietly bubbling under the surface.
Then, at the one minute mark, "What Kind of a Man" has the guitar kick in, with powerful, choppy chords emphasizing the beat alongside a kicking drum. Then, Welch transitions from her crooning chant to her boastful, powerful vocals declaring "What kind of man loves like this / You holy fool, all colored blue / For a feet up on the floor / You do so much damage / How do you manage to keep crawling back for me?"
It's biting, it's rocking and it's powerful, just like what we want from Florence and the Machine.
The premiere of "What Kind of Man" comes ahead of Florence and the Machine's third studio album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. The album, the band's first, will be released on June 2, according to SPIN.
The tracklist has also been unveiled. In addition to "What Kind of Man" and "How Big How Blue How Beautiful," other song titles include "Ship to Wreck," "Third Eye" and "Various Storms & Saints."
Check out the full tracklist below:
01. "Ship To Wreck"
02. "What Kind Of Man"
03. "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful"
04. "Queen Of Peace"
05. "Various Storms & Saints"
06. "Delilah"
07. "Long & Lost"
08. "Caught"
09. "Third Eye"
10. "St Jude"
11. "Mother"
