Conjuring some magic
Paganism and the musical and visual aesthetics of Florence + the Machine and Bat for Lashes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3133911 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Erin Sweeney Smith (0000-0001-5463-1754, Willow Wood (United States), corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 01 |
| Pages | 90-104 |
| Publication date | 2019-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Popular Music (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0261-1430 • E-ISSN: 1474-0095 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0261143018000739 |
| OpenAlex | W2908032317 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 5 |
Magic and mystery shroud Florence + the Machine's and Bat for Lashes's performances and interviews, which frequently frame the two groups' frontwomen, Florence Welch and Natasha Khan, as 'witchy' or magical, or spur comparisons to Pagan aesthetics. This article investigates the unique ways the two bands use Pagan influences to speak to mainstream and Pagan audiences. Ultimately, the two groups set themselves apart from other bands through marketing that fuses commercialism with an esoteric religion. Florence + the Machine and Bat for Lashes create a 'Pagan chic' that draws in listeners through videos, instrumentation often featuring harp and tom-tom drums, fantasy-oriented lyrics, and stage props which use a Pagan lens to respond to current political events reminiscent of the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Christianity · Counterculture · Literature · MAGIC (telescope · Mainstream · Musical · Paganism · Theology · Visual arts · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · Philosophy · Psychedelics and Drug Studies · Religious studies · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |