Florence and the Machine Reveal Second Album Plans

Florence and the Machine's Florence Welch has revealed plans for her next album.

With festival dates -- including Glastonbury and a headline slot at Latitude in July -- keeping her busy from now until August, she said she expects to spend late summer writing before recording the follow-up to 'Lungs' at the end of the year.

Welch told BBC 6 Music that she is still stunned by her rise to fame, and the rate at which she has gone from playing pubs to large venues.

"I'm not sure if it will ever sink in, that's the thing," she said. "I'm always quite surprised. You don't ever lose that sense of wonder, and sort of bemusement. It's just nice to connect with people, you know, and to feel like the audience has grown and that more people have come to the music. It's nice."

The band have one new song finished. It's called 'Strangeness and Charm' and has already made its way into their live set.

"I wrote it just before I went to Australia which was about two months ago," Welch said. "I gave it to the band and we have been practising it and we thought it would be nice to start playing it for the fans on this tour. "

As for the sound of the follow-up album, she says that she would like a more atmospheric, elemental feeling. "The whole first album was really based really deeply on Gothic romance, and things like that, so maybe we'll try and do something that's slightly more ... ethereal."

Last week it was also announced that Florence and the Machine had contributed a brand new track -- 'Heavy In Your Arms' -- to the soundtrack of the third Twilight film. 'Twilight: Eclipse' hits cinemas on June 30. You can get your hands on the soundtrack -- which also includes Band of Horses, Muse, the Dead Weather and the Black Keys -- on June 7.