Florence + the Machine counter heartache with fire in 'Lover to Lover' video: Watch

Florence Welch gets fire-happy in the new video for "Lover to Lover."

Credit: Island Records

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Grappling with a tortured relationship? Burn it to the ground.

At least that appears to be the general idea in the new music video for Florence + the Machine's "Lover to Lover," which sees lead songstress Florence Welch stuck in an emotional wrestling match with an aloof lover (in the form of "Dark Knight Rises" thesp Ben Mendelsohn) and ultimately cleansing herself of the torment by building a cozy little bonfire in her front yard. Oh yeah, she also leaps into what appears to be a freezing-cold ocean to complete the "I'm better off without him" purification. (Is it just me, or do people only do things like this in movies and music videos?)

Ok, so Ms. Welch isn't exactly trodding new ground here thematically, though given the song's doom-laden lyrics ("There's no salvation for me now"), is it possible her climactic leap into the ocean is less baptism than final act of self-destruction? It would certainly fit better with the theatrical frontwoman's gloomy wordsmithing.

In any case, the Vincent Haycock-directed clip rates a middling "C-" grade from this reviewer, if only because it peddles rather lazily in lovelorn music-video cliches. For a group with such a unique sound, is this really the best they could do?

After watching the full video below, be sure and rate it for yourself at top left.

Follow me on Twitter @HitFixChris
 

Florence and the Machine: Lover to Lover on Nowness.com.

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Chris Eggertsen
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A former contributor to sites including Bloody-Disgusting and AfterElton, Eggertsen enjoys rock music, rainy days and smelling the pages of old books. You should read all of his articles and follow him on Twitter because it's the right thing to do.