For the month of October, I’m taking the #OctAtoZBandChallenge challenge. The premise is simple. Pick a band starting with the day’s assigned alphabet letter and then choose a song from that band.

Day 6

I saw Florence perform at MSG a few weeks ago. She was unbelievable. A powerful force and presence, yet so approachable and relatable with her audience. The setlist was stacked with tracks from the new album Dance Fever, a record that admittedly is taking me some time to appreciate. But I’m getting there. I was hoping for more of the fan favs to appear on the setlist, including this one. “Queen of Peace” is still one of my favorite songs from Florence.

Ferocity. Emotion. Grandeur. These are some of the qualities that I love most about Florence. And they all come together on “Queen of Peace”, one of the key bangers from How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. The track is perhaps most known for its tempo gear switches—from its regal and triumphant string arrangement prelude to the bold fierceness of the opening verse. Then up another notch to the emotional rampage of the chorus. It’s one of the most powerful songs recorded from one of the most powerful artists of the last decade.

“Like the stars chase the sun, over the glowing hill, I will conquer. Blood is running deep. Some things never sleep.”