Florence + The Machine have announced a brand new live album ‘Symphony Of Lungs’ with Jules Buckley.
Last month, Florence Welch made her debut at the BBC Proms at the iconic Royal Albert Hall alongside Jules Buckley and his Orchestra. The performance saw her celebrate the 15th anniversary of her seminal debut album ‘Lungs’. Accompanied by two harpists, four percussionists, a string section, a woodwind section and more, the singer and Buckley reimagined the songs from the 2009 LP as sweeping orchestral pieces.
Now, ahead of the performance being aired in full on BBC Two and iPlayer tomorrow (October 19), the ‘Dog Days Are Over’ singer and the composer have announced that a live album of the show titled ‘Symphony of Lungs (BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall)’ is set to be released digitally on Friday (October 25) and will be available on both vinyl and CD on March 14, 2025. You can pre-order / pre-save the album here.
Speaking about the performance and the live album in a press release, Welch said: “I always thought maybe I would give my first album a long title. Under Heaven Over Hell (‘uh oh’ for short) was one idea. But, when I thought of ‘Lungs’, I knew it had to be that. This album is truly an exhalation and a gasp – a cacophony of ideas and influences. For things to get so big so fast on a debut album is both an unknowable blessing and a curse. You never know if the record (or the person) will survive it.”
She continued: “To be able to go back to it, 15 years and five albums later, and have it still be so loved is the most extraordinary thing. Re-imagining it with Jules Buckley and his Orchestra was an act of enormous catharsis.”
Buckley added: “I’ve performed at the Royal Albert Hall many times over the years, and this energy and atmosphere was insanely electric. Really excited to see the result of so much work from so many great folk. ‘Lungs’ stands the test of time as one of the greatest records of recent years, and to help Florence realise this orchestral vision has been a dream for all of us involved.”
Florence + the Machine released their fifth album, ‘Dance Fever’, in 2022. In a four-star review of the record, NME’s Sophie Williams wrote: “For Welch, the reality of being a pop star is still evidently surreal, and the songs of ‘Dance Fever’ are full of admissions, plainly sung, with very little left between the lines.
“Where her music has long been full of near-mythological imagery – 2015’s ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’ started life as a concept record about a witch coven – the reality presented on this album is profoundly more haunting.”
As well as being spotted at Fontaines D.C.’s intimate London launch show for their new album ‘Romance‘, Welch also made a special guest appearance to join Taylor Swift on stage at the final night of her European ‘Eras’ tour at Wembley Stadium back in August.