The song was written by Florence Welch, Kid Harpoon and John Hill, produced by Markus Dravs.
The song was released on 12 February 2015 as the album's lead single.
"What Kind of Man" received Grammy Award nominations for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song.
According to lead vocalist Florence Welch, the song represents a new guitar-driven sonic direction for the band.
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.