Florence + The Machine have announced a 10th anniversary reissue of their third album ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’. Find all the details below.
The London band released the original version of the record a decade ago, on May 29 2015. It earned Florence Welch and co. their third consecutive UK Number One album, following ‘Lungs’ (2009) and ‘Ceremonials’ (2011), and scored the band their first US chart-topper.
‘How Big…’ earned the group multiple Grammy nominations, and was up for Album Of The Year at the BRIT Awards 2016. The previous year, the LP was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.
Welch is celebrating 10 years of ‘How Big…’ by releasing a limited vinyl edition of the project – which features the singles ‘What Kind Of Man’, ‘Ship To Wreck’ and ‘Delilah’ – this summer.
“Today marks 10 years since ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’ was released. The album that changed everything,” F+TM wrote on social media to announce the revamped collection.
“The original studio album has been pressed on a limited run of marble blue double vinyl to celebrate the 10th anniversary, and comes with an exclusive print via the Florence + The Machine official store, which will be shipped on 29th August 2025.”
The 2015 album was accompanied by a short film, titled The Odyssey, directed by Vincent Haycock, and choreographed by Ryan Heffington and Holly Blakey.
Writing on Instagram to announce the new reissue, frontwoman Welch shared a clip from the project along with the caption: “The Odyssey and the album that changed everything. 10 years of ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’.” See above.
You can pre-order the 10th anniversary edition of ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’ here, and see the full tracklist below.
‘Ship To Wreck’
‘What Kind Of Man’
‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’
‘Queen Of Peace’
‘Various Storms & Saints’
‘Delilah’
‘Long & Lost’
‘Caught’
‘Third Eye’
‘St. Jude’
‘Mother’
Following the release of their third record, Florence + The Machine headlined Glastonbury Festival for the first time. They had been bumped up the line-up after Foo Fighters were forced to cancel their bill-topping set due to injury.
Speaking to NME about ‘How Big…’ in 2015, Welch explained: “When I first went to work with Markus [Dravs, producer], I did have some songs that were like… slightly more ‘Ceremonials’-esque.
“We got really into obsessing about the LA witchcraft scene, and I was imagining this concept album about a witch trial in Hollywood, and someone falls in love. It was kind of tied up with things in my own life, but it was an escapism.”
However, Dravs (Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons) instead honed in on a selection of simpler songs about Welch’s emotions. Admitting that she wasn’t initially convinced, the singer told NME: “I thought, ‘I’m just saying stuff, as it is! Where’s the drama, where’s the big cape? Where’s all the glitter?’ He encouraged me to be a bit more open, I guess. But that’s frightening.”
In a four-star review of the LP, NME wrote: “Overflowing with stately songwriting and lyrical craftsmanship, ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’ makes for a restrained but joyful return, and a collection that will last long after Welch’s broken bones are mended.”
Florence + The Machine have since followed up ‘How Big…’ with ‘High As Hope’ (2018) and most recently ‘Dance Fever’ (2022).
Last year, the band marked the 15th anniversary of ‘Lungs’ by playing a one-off orchestral show at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall. The concert, held as part of the BBC Proms, was captured on a new live album.
The group marked 10 years of ‘Lungs’ in 2009 by releasing a special boxset, boasting unheard songs from that era.
Meanwhile, Welch joined Taylor Swift on stage at the final night of her European ‘Eras’ tour at Wembley Stadium last summer to perform the pair’s collaborative track ‘Florida!!!’. She made another appearance at a later show in Miami.
Earlier this year, the frontwoman featured alongside Sampha on Everything Is Recorded’s single ‘Never Felt Better’.
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