Florence + the Machine are going to release a new album at the end of the month. Before the U.K. band begins to circulate new music, this is a great time to look back at a gem from their early career. In 2010 Florence + the Machine covered Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” and revealed how well they can unleash an epic moment.

The band was touring their massive debut record, Between Two Lungs. Florence + the Machine only performed a ten-song set, but saw fit to nod to Fleetwood Mac. Singer Florence Welch (who was wearing something… unusual?) prefaced the song by noting that she was a huge fan of the band.

Florence + the Machine slayed the performance. As soon as the signature first drumbeats of “The Chain” were played, the band made the song their own.

Welch delivered Stevie Nick’s words with unbelievable confidence. As “The Chain” wound into its guitar solo, Welch, the band, and the crowd looked as if they lost themselves in the moment. As the band shredded the music, Welch tossed her red hair around as she danced barefoot as if thousands of people were not watching.

One of the cooler parts of the song is listening to the audience’s backing vocals. Throughout much of the piece, you can hear the crowd throwing their best effort into “The Chain” along with Welch and her cohorts.

Florence + the Machine At Glastonbury

That 2010 festival show saw the band perform in a daytime slot for their fourth Glastonbury appearance. The next time that Florence + the Machine wound up at Glastonbury was in 2015. They filled a headlining gig for Foo Fighters after Dave Grohl suffered a broken leg.

For that concert, Florence + the Machine nodded to the Foo Fighters by adding a killer cover of “Times Like These.”

The U.K. band has been adept at covering classic songs. Early on in their career they dropped an amazing cover of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted To Love” on Lungs: The B-Sides.

Earlier this year Florence + the Machine covered Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” Previously they joined up with Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme for Johnny Cash and June Carter’s “Jackson” in 2012.

Florence + the Machine’s New Album

Florence + the Machine’s new album, High As Hope, is set for release on June 29, 2018. The record will be the band’s fourth and first LP since 2015.

So far the singles “Hunger” and “Sky Full Of Stong” indicate that High As Hope might be a marked improvement from the band’s third LP. How Big, How Bold, How Beautiful lacked the conviction of 2011’s Ceremonials. Florence + the Machine are at their best when they can merge strength with their signature floaty sound. Hopefully the layoff between records allowed one of the most unique bands in the world to rediscover their creative swagger.

This is the sixth post in a recurring series from the Flat Circle. Every Monday the Flat Circle will feature a new song, deep cut, or live track from my personal collection or travels on the Internet. The complete series can be found under the “Music” tab at the top of the page. For last week’s post on the Godzilla (1998) soundtrack, click here.

www.flatcircleblog.com is a Philadelphia pop-culture blog that covers television, music, podcasts, and movies. Follow along on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe by e-mail to catch all posts.