The Weekend Drop: Florence + the Machine, Cat Burns, The Charlatans, Witch Fever and your other album releases

• Florence Welch makes her long-awaited return on the album front this New Music Friday.
• Along with herself, there are bewitching treats from Cat Burns, The Charlatans and Witch Fever
• Here’s our round-up of this week’s essential releases, all of which are scheduled for release this Halloween.

The biggest releases of the week land on the biggest night of spooks and scares. Yes, this week’s New Music Friday just so happens to fall on Halloween, so what treats are there among the tricks this week?

How about the return of Florence + The Machine with her sixth studio album, Everybody Scream, with Welch having walked that line between the majestic and the mystical, with this new collection of songs diving headfirst into themes of witchcraft, folk horror, and spiritual reckoning.

But the night of releases isn't just about one powerhouse. Joining the drop are UK legends The Charlatans, the intensely honest singer-songwriter Cat Burns, and the ferocious noise-punks Witch Fever, whose second album FEVEREATEN is a suitably dark offering for the holiday.

Here’s our picks of this week’s essential album drops, and a few more that might pique your interest - and maybe keep the doorknockers at bay?

The Weekend Drop: this week’s biggest new album releases - October 31

Florence + the Machine — Everybody Scream

Landing perfectly on Halloween, Florence Welch’s sixth studio album, Everybody Scream, is not just a collection of songs—it’s an exorcism.

Considered Florence at her most raw and deeply personal, the record was conceived in the wake of her life-saving emergency surgery during the Dance Fever Tour in 2023. Welch channelled that period of physical fragility and emotional reckoning into a fearless new artistic chapter.

The title and core concept come from a moment of therapeutic release, exploring the fine line between the agony and ecstasy of performance. As Welch put it, she was exploring the idea of a "celebratory scream" and why she keeps returning to the stage, even when the commitment takes a physical toll.

Sonically, the album has already shown to be a sweeping, cinematic affair that pushes the band's sound into darker, more textured territory. It features a unique, close-knit circle of collaborators, including Aaron Dessner (The National), Mark Bowen (IDLES), and even an appearance from singer-songwriter Mitski.

The lead singles—the grand, gothic title track ‘Everybody Scream’ and the lengthy, mythic ‘One of the Greats’—have already shown promises of a powerful return to form, with tracks like ‘Witch Dance,’ ‘The Old Religion,’ and ‘Kraken,’ Everybody Scream is promising to be a deep dive into folklore, mortality, and the eternal conflict between the physical and the spiritual.

• Pre-save this album on Spotify

Cat Burns - How To Be Human

Following the viral success of her debut, Cat Burns delves deeply into her personal life on her new album, How to Be Human. The 16-track project is an intimate exploration of grief, heartbreak, and self-discovery, directly chronicling a turbulent year in the London singer-songwriter’s life.

Burns uses her signature honest lyricism, woven with personal voice notes and affirmations, to create a 'comfort album' for anyone navigating complex emotions. Featuring popular singles like the Sapphic anthem ‘GIRLS!’ and ‘All This Love,’ How To Be Human promises to be a resonant, relatable, and heartfelt body of work from one of the UK’s most exciting voices.

• Pre-save this album on Spotify

The Charlatans — We Are Love

Indie legends The Charlatans mark their return with their fourteenth studio album, We Are Love. This record holds special significance as it's the band's first to be recorded at the iconic Rockfield Studios since their 1997 classic, Telling Stories, a conscious decision to re-tap their original creative energy.

Frontman Tim Burgess has described the title track as feeling "like an open-top car ride in the credits of your favourite movie." Expect a focused effort that blends their classic, driving grooves with a modern, euphoric touch—a vital new chapter for a band that continues to honour its past while pushing forward.

• Pre-save this album on Spotify

Witch Fever — FEVEREATEN

Manchester's Witch Fever unleashes their ferocious second album, FEVEREATEN, another fittingly dark offering for a Halloween release.

The record is a striking evolution from their debut, leaning into darker, gothic, and metallic textures while retaining their raw, unflinching punk spirit. Vocalist Amy Walpole explores themes of religious trauma, mental health, and selfhood with a new level of maturity and complexity.

From the Deftones-esque fury of the opener to its more melodic, emotionally weighted moments, FEVEREATEN is a loud, raw, and highly dynamic album that helps solidify Witch Fever as one of the UK's most exciting alternative acts.

• Pre-save this album on Spotify

What other albums are dropping on New Music Friday this week?

Alongside those Halloween treats, a few more albums are coming out this weekend.

Your remaining New Music Friday releases worth checking out are as follows (with links once again to pre-save those albums on Spotify or Bandcamp)

• Anna von Hausswolff — ICONOCLASTS
• Claire Rousay — a little death
• Creeper — Sanguivore II: Mistress Of Death
• Daniel Avery — Tremor
• Guided by Voices — Thick Rich And Delicious
• Kodak Black — Just Getting Started

All information sourced from Metacritic, and is correct as of the time of writing.