Bill Nighy Portrays Florence Welch’s Anxiety in Florence + the Machine’s New Video for “Free”

For her band’s new music video for “Free,” Florence + the Machine focal point Florence Welch is paired with legendary English actor Bill Nighy, who plays the role of Welch’s anxiety.

The video, directed by Autumn de Wilde, puts an inventive spin on the concept of anxiety, which can seem like an ever-present force, something we can’t shake no matter how many times we try.

Nighy’s anxiety avatar remains nearby (a visibly frustrated) Welch in the video’s first few minutes until she’s able to break free and dance euphorically around the room — at which point Nighy sits at a table mindlessly scrolling on his mobile device.

The song is a preview of Dance Fever, a new Florence + the Machine album set for release on May 13. It will be the band‘s fifth album to date.

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As its title may suggest, this one’s about letting it all out and truly experiencing the good around us. Via a news release:

Dance Fever was recorded in London over the course of the pandemic in anticipation of the world’s reopening. It conjures up what Florence missed most in the midst of lockdown—clubs, dancing at festivals, being in the whirl of movement and togetherness—and the hope of reunions to come.

The image and concept of choreomania—a Renaissance phenomenon in which groups of people danced wildly to the point of exhaustion, collapse and death—became a focal point of inspiration. Forced off the road for the first time in more than a decade, dance offered Florence propulsion, energy and a way of looking at music more choreographically.

Starting, as ever, armed with a notebook of poems and ideas, Florence had just arrived to New York in March 2020 to begin recording when Covid-19 forced a retreat to London. Holed up at home, the songs she had begun started to transform, ultimately arriving somewhere that Florence describes as “Nick Cave at the club.”

“King” is another song shared ahead of the record, also with a great music video:

Florence + the Machine also has a run of tour dates coming up in support of the album later this year:

April 29                                           Los Angeles Theatre                                  Los Angeles, CA
May 6                                       Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center                          New York, NY
September 2                                             Place Bell                                             Montreal, QC*
September 3                                       Budweiser Stage                                          Toronto, ON*
September 7                  Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island                    Chicago, IL†
September 8                                    Xcel Energy Center                                       St. Paul, MN†
September 10                              Pine Knob Music Theatre                                  Clarkson, MI†
September 12                                    Capital One Area                                 Washington, D.C.†
September 14                                         TD Garden                                               Boston, MA†
September 16                               Madison Square Garden                                New York, NY†
September 20                                 Ascend Amphitheater                                    Nashville, TN‡
September 21                              Ameris Bank Amphitheatre                             Alpharetta, GA‡
September 23                                      Amway Center                                            Orlando, FL‡
September 24                                           FTX Arena                                                 Miami, FL‡
September 27                                        Moody Center                                              Austin, TX§
September 28                       The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory                            Irving, TX§
October 1                                                 Ball Arena                                                  Denver, CO
October 4                                                Rogers Arena                                      Vancouver, BC**
October 6                                        Climate Pledge Arena                                     Seattle, WA††
October 7                                        Theater of the Clouds                                    Portland, OR**
October 9                                        Shoreline Amphitheatre                      Mountain View, CA††
October 12                       Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre                San Diego, CA††
October 14                                            Hollywood Bowl                                    Los Angeles, CA
*with Arlo Parks
†with Sam Fender
‡with King Princess
§with Yves Tumor
**with Japanese Breakfast
††with Wet Leg