Those at the Domain in Sydney, Australia were left in awe on Saturday (26 January) when soulful melancholic singer Marlon Williams was invited up by Florence and The Machine to perform his track 'Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore'. Williams has since shared high quality footage of the post on social media yesterday, which you can check out below.
The admiration and respect for Williams, who is by no means as commercially successful as Florence, feels genuine when Florence says the New Zealand troubadour’s name with pride before taking the opening line. Williams, however, has had moderate success since signing to Secretly Canadian subsidiary Dead Oceans and releasing his self-titled debut album to widespread critical acclaim in 2015. He came in for a Gigwise office session around then. Since, the singer's neatly followed that up in 2018 with the release of his second album Make Way For Love that's similarly won over the press and fans alike for thanks to its sense of forlorn beauty.
This anthemic, melancholic track heard in the clip below is the tenth track from the second album and feels timeless. It borrows from vintage alt-country and folk - and conjures a romanticised vision of rural America - but is delivered with enough conviction to eschew the pitfalls of pastiche.
Florence adds a level of emotion and dynamic to it that sets it apart from the album version and the chemistry they have on stage together appears to come very naturally.
Williams has been on a tour of Australia supporting Florence on these huge arena dates. A leg up for an indie artist for sure that will hopefully see the third album arrive to even more fanfare.
Florence and The Machine's tour with Williams ended on 30 January. Florence, however, could be in London this month as she received two BRIT Awards: British Female Solo Artist and Best Album.
Florence and the Machine played:
June
Hunger
Between Two Lungs
Only If for a Night
Queen of Peace
South London Forever
Patricia
Dog Days Are Over
100 Years
Ship to Wreck
Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore
(Marlon Williams cover) (with Marlon Williams)
Cosmic Love
Delilah
What Kind of Man
Encore:
Moderation
Big God
Shake It Out
