Florence + the Machine share a live version of “Morning Elvis” with Ethel Cain today, recorded at the Denver stop of Florence’s Dance Fever tour. Listen here.
“‘Morning Elvis’ is a song about the power of performance,” says Florence. “Of rock and roll tragedy and transcendence. And it’s a sign of a truly special artist when they make a cover their own. When Hayden sang this song it felt like it was hers, she really gave it that outlaw energy, like witches of the Wild West. I even threw more lines at her on the day because her tone and cadence was so perfect I wanted to hear more. And she did not miss a line even with only an hour to rehearse. I truly think I have found a kindred spirit aesthetically and artistically. And now every show I sing ‘Morning Elvis’ with an Ethel Cain inflection.”
“I was giggling when we rehearsed the song just the two of us before the show because Florence told me that ‘Morning Elvis’ was her channeling her inner Southern rocker, and I told her I couldn’t stop myself from emulating her British accent on certain words,” says Ethel. “It felt like a holy convergence happening in a basketball arena. Florence’s dressing room smelled like powder and sage and we were both dressed in white, singing our lines back and forth to each other, and I felt like I was back in choir practice, but with an actual angel this time. She’s never not smiling, and if you would have told me we were the only two people in the entire venue while we sang it in the middle of her set, I would have believed you.”
The official release of the track comes on the heels of Florence’s nomination for Best Alternative Music Performance for “King” at the 65th annual Grammy Awards.
Florence’s much lauded new album Dance Fever, released earlier this year to widespread critical acclaim, has been named to early best of 2022 lists from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Consequence, NYLON, Paste and more.
The album hit #1 in the U.K. and debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts and #7 on the Billboard 200—her fourth consecutive album in the top ten. Since its release, Florence has played sold out arenas across North America and will play a run of U.K. dates in early 2023.
