Florence + the Machine’s “Everybody Scream” is a spellbinding album that explores themes of feminine power, healing and transformation through a haunting sound.

The sixth studio album by Florence + the Machine was released on Halloween. “Everybody Screams” reaffirms Florence Welch’s strong use of theatrical sounds blended with a nature-infused worldview. From the opening track, the album is immersed in a world of folklore and forest imagery.

The title track sets the tone for this haunting world. Welch invokes an almost ‘coven ritual’ feel as she sings, “I will come for you in the evening, ragged and reeling/ Shaking my gold like a tambourine/ A bouquet of brambles, all twisted and tangled.” Right away, the album pulls listeners into a sound of mysticism, one where feminine power and freedom reign.

Much of the album’s aesthetic draws on how earth and body are connected. In “You Can Have It All,” Welch places “her grief on the altar” as she sings, “A piece of flesh, a million pounds/ Am I a woman now? / The crescent moon, an apple slice/ Thick in the sky.” The album tends to follow grief and loss and how rebirth can transform a person through the process.

Welch also leans into the feminine rage of this grief in “Old Religion.” The rage is felt in the drums as Welch sings, “Some animal instinct starting up again/ And I am wound so tightly, I hardly even breathe/ You wonder why we’re hungry for some kind of release/ So tired of being careful, so tired of being still/ Give me something I can crush, something I can kill.”

Still, Welch continues to connect these feelings in the body to nature. In “Old Religion,” she compares the rage to a lightning strike and a fallen tree. These continued connections throughout the album make it cohesive and have a clear message throughout.

Welch’s voice draws listeners in with big sonic sounds throughout the album like beautiful strings and her raw vocal belts. Her voice and artistic tone have only evolved in this album, creating a clear sound that Welch is trying to evoke in her art.

An altar is a metaphor used in a majority of the songs off of the album. Welch’s rebirth in the album seems to be a connection to her higher self and the earth. In “Sympathy Magic,” Welch talks about the god she worships now, which is the natural world. Welch sings, “And light coming in the window just so/ And the wind through my fingers/ The only God that I know/ And it does not want me on my knees to believe/ Head high, arms wide.” Here, Welch has found a peace in her beliefs, one that does not push her down but lifts her to a place of new beginnings and higher growth.

While the album sonically all blends together, sometimes this can be to a fault. As the album plays along, sometimes one cannot tell where one song stops and the next begins. This can be seen as a good thing, but some listeners could find this artistically boring and dull to listen to if they want more variety.

“Everybody Scream” is a witchy album rooted in nature but built off of real human experiences like grief and coming to one’s self. The album sucks listeners into a world of nature, trees, impulse and magic. Welch has created something that evokes strong emotions from the listener and this album is a great example of what Florence + The Machine can do.