What Kind of Man (song)

What Kind of Man
Single by Florence + The Machine
Released	February 12, 2015
Writer(s)	Florence Welch Kid Harpoon John Hill
Producer(s)	Markus Dravs
Genre	garage rock, pop
Length	3:36
Album
Label	Island
Singles chronology
Previous	Over the Love
Current	What Kind of Man
Next	Ship to Wreck
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful chronology
"Ship to Wreck"
"How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful"
Music Video

"What Kind of Man" is the lead single and second track from Florence and the Machine’s third studio album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. It was released as a Limited Edition light blue 12” single for record store day 2015, As Far As I Could Get was put as side B on the vinyl.

Background

This song finds a frustrated Florence Welch singing of a wishy-washy man. "You were on the other side, like always, wondering what to do with life," she sings to her "holy fool" of a lover. Welch wrote the track with singer-songwriter Kid Harpoon, a songwriter she collaborated with on her 2011 hit "Shake It Out".

Composition

According to Florence Welch, the song represents a new guitar-driven sonic direction for the band. "It's got very loud guitars and that was very fun to record actually", she said in an interview. "Trying to get exactly the right tone of guitar—I never realised how complicated that is. It took us forever.... Every day there'd be a different guitar sound. We ended up layering with three different guitar sounds, one on top of the other, in order to create this one song."

The song builds slowly and breaks into a heavy beat with tambourine and bass drum, and then becomes a textured pop song with heavy brass arrangements. The song lyrically focuses on an indecisive man who wronged Welch.

Lyrics

I was on a heavy tip
Try'na cross a canyon with a broken limb
You were on the other side, like always
Wondering what to do with life

I'd already had a sip
So I'd reasoned I was drunk enough to deal with it
You were on the other side, like always
You could never make you mine

And with one kiss
You inspired a fire of devotion that lasts for twenty years
What kind of man loves like this?

To let me dangle at a cruel angle
Oh, my feet don't touch the floor
Sometimes you're half in and then you're half out
But you never close the door

What kind of man loves like this?
What kind of man?
What kind of man loves like this?
What kind of man?

You're a holy fool, all colored blue
Red feet upon the floor
You do such damage, how do you manage?
Trying to crawl in back for more

And with one kiss
You inspired a fire of devotion that lasts for twenty years
What kind of man loves like this?

What kind of man loves like this?
What kind of man?
What kind of man loves like this?
What kind of man?

But I can't beat ya, 'cause I'm still with ya
"Oh mercy", I implore ("oh mercy", I implore)
How do you do it? I think I'm through it
Then I'm back against the wall

What kind of man loves like this? What kind of man?

Music Video

The music video for "What Kind of Man", directed by Vincent Haycock and choreographed by Ryan Heffington, premiered on February 12, 2015. Filmed in Los Angeles and Mérida, Mexico, the video is a short film that includes dialogue about the unifying power of tragedy in a relationship between a couple as they drive down a country road. Scenes of the couple driving at various points in their relationship are interspersed with examples of the woman and her relationships with different men, often taking on a smothering quality. The woman later is the centre of religious rituals that involve her being lifted by several men, including her love interest played by Richie Stephens, speaking in tongues, baptism and exorcism.

Critical reception

"What Kind of Man" received acclaim from music critics. Al Horner of NME wrote, "Musically, it's big. Wagnerian backing vocals and horn blasts turn 'What Kind Of Man' into a spectacle worthy of [Welch's] new festival headliner status". Dee Lockett of Vulture dubbed it a "fiery rocker". Andrew Unterberger of Spin opined that the song "starts off a letdown, but quickly proves to be ['Ship to Wreck'’s] roaring equal, with the unexpected arrival of a thick guitar chop and regal horn salute that gives Florence the instrumental support she deserves as she excoriates an uncommitted significant other".

Commercial performance

"What Kind of Man" debuted at number 57 on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 37 the following week. In the United States, the song reached number eight on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, tying with the band's 2008 single "Dog Days Are Over" and subsequent single "Ship to Wreck" as their highest-peaking single on that chart. As of July 2018, the song had sold 177,000 copies and had been streamed 11.2 million times in the United Kingdom.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.

Recording

• Engineered at The Pool (London)
• Mixed at The Mixsuite (UK)
• Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City)

Personnel

Florence and the Machine

• Florence Welch – vocals, backing vocals
• Chris Hayden – drums, percussion
• Mark Saunders – bass
• Rob Ackroyd – electric guitar

Additional personnel

• Markus Dravs – production, percussion, synths
• John Hill – co-production, synths, brass writing, brass arrangements
• Robin Baynton – engineering
• Jonathan Sagis – engineering assistance
• Joe Kearns – additional engineering
• Iain Berryman – additional engineering
• Leo Abrahams – electric guitar
• Janelle Martin – backing vocals
• Nim Miller – backing vocals
• Baby N'Sola – backing vocals
• Kid Harpoon – brass writing, brass arrangements
• Nigel Black – French horn
• Pip Eastop – French horn
• Sam Jacobs – French horn
• Elise Campbell – French horn
• John Barclay – trumpet
• Andy Crowley – trumpet
• Philip Cobb – trumpet
• Tom Rees-Roberts – trumpet
• Andy Wood – Euphonium
• Ed Tarrant – Euphonium
• Richard Edwards – tenor trombone
• Oren Marshall – tuba
• Mat Bartram – brass recording
• Ronan Phelan – brass recording assistance
• Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
• Geoff Swan – mixing assistance
• Ted Jensen – mastering