Florence Welch back in Auckland

BY TRACEY BOND

It hasn't even been six months since she was last in New Zealand but Florence Welch, aka Florence and the Machine, is back.

"Before I went off and did the second album I wanted to come back and reconnect with the fans." Welch told Stuff.co.nz.

The band was last here in February as the headlining act for the debut of the St Jerome's Laneway music festival in Auckland.

"It was a travelling festival so you were with the same line-up going from place to place. It was like being part of the circus for a while," Welch says.

Hits like Dog Days Are Over and Cosmic Love from her debut album Lungs have put Welch firmly on the musical map.

She says that some of the highlights of her career so far include singing onstage with her "hero" Jarvis Cocker ("He's as great in person as you always thought he would be") and playing at the Glastonbury Music Festival.

"I've never seen that many people in front of a stage, it was kind of amazing and terrifying at the same time," Welch admits.

She promises fans there will be a few new songs in the mix when she performs at Auckland's Trusts Stadium.

There's the new song Heavy in Your Arms which features on the latest Twilight Eclipse soundtrack.

"I totally understand the phenomenon and it's amazing to be a part of it." Welch says.

"I was a fan of the Twilight books as well. I think they are pure escapism."

There's also the song Strangeness and Charm, which Welch says is "a taster of what's to come" on her next album.

"It fits in well in the set. It's a progression. It's not taking a turn in a totally new direction."

Welch plans to start recording her second album, which she describes as "more epic and doomy-sounding" in September.

Florence and the Machine, The Drums
July 29: Trusts Stadium, Auckland
More information: Eventfinder

- © Fairfax NZ News