New York, NY (Top40 Charts) High As Hope, the hugely anticipated new album from Florence + the Machine, is set for release June 29 on Republic Records. The first official single, "Hunger," also premieres today, accompanied by stunning new video directed by A.G. Rojas; watch it below.
Premiering today, "Hunger" pairs Florence's intimate, rawly honest lyricism with a broader sense of acceptance, community and joy. "Hunger" is effectively about acknowledging those holes in our psyche that we try to fill with love and hate, obsessions or addictions but you can ultimately only ever satisfy yourself.
"This song is about the ways we look for love in things that are perhaps not love, and how attempts to feel less alone can sometimes isolate us more," says Florence. "I guess I made myself more vulnerable in this song to encourage connection, because perhaps a lot more of us feel this way than we are able to admit. Sometimes when you can't say it, you can sing it."
Florence wrote, co-produced (her first time co-producing a Florence + the Machine album) and recorded the majority of High As Hope in solitude, cycling to her studio in Peckham every day.
She finished the songs in Los Angeles with her friend and co-producer Emile Haynie, bringing in Kamasi Washington, Sampha, Tobias Jesso Jr, Kelsey Lu and Jamie xx as further collaborators. Florence mixed the record in New York, where the daily view of the skyline—often in stark contrast to the chaos of the wider world—gave the album its title.
Florence writes of growing up in South London, of family, relationships and art itself. "There's a lot of love in this record, loneliness too, but a lot of love," says Florence.
She continues, "It's always a work in progress, and I definitely don't have everything figured out. But this feels like quite a pure expression of who I am now, as an artist, and an honest one. I'm just more comfortable with who I am."
ABOUT REPUBLIC RECORDS A division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company, Republic Records is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists such as Ariana Grande, Aminé, Black Sabbath, DNCE, Florence + the Machine, Gotye, Hailee Steinfeld, James Blake, James Bay, John Mellencamp, Jordan Smith, Julia Michaels, Keith Richards, Kid Cudi, Liam Payne, Marian Hill, Of Monsters and Men, Post Malone, Seth MacFarlane, Stevie Wonder, and more. Founded by brothers and chief executives Monte and Avery Lipman, it is also comprised of innovative business ventures, including American Recordings (The Avett Brothers, Towkio), Boominati Worldwide (Metro Boomin), Brushfire (Jack Johnson), Casablanca Records (Giorgio Moroder, KUNGS, Tïesto), Cash Money (Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj), Hollywood Records (Sofia Carson, Zendaya), Lava Records (Greta Van Fleet, Jessie J, Lorde), Monkeywrench (Pearl Jam), XO (The Weeknd), Roc Nation (Belly, Justine Skye, The Dream), Tuff Gong (Damian Marley), Victor Victor Records (D Savage, Ski Mask The Slump God), among others. Republic also maintains a long-standing strategic alliance with country powerhouse Big Machine Records (Taylor Swift), and Universal Music Latin Entertainment (Luis Fonsi, J Balvin). In addition, Republic has expanded to release high-profile soundtracks for Universal Pictures (Fifty Shades of Grey, SING), Fox TV (Lee Daniels' STAR), and NBC TV (The Voice), as well as other notable film and television franchises.
Track listing:
June
Hunger
South London Forever
Big God
Sky Full of Song
Grace
Patricia
100 Years
The End of Love
No Choir
