I’m absolutely obsessed with Florence Welch – in fact I think my love for Florence + the Machine is 76% percent about the music and 24% about her, and I challenge anyone not to have loved Lungs. So imagine my joy when I finally got my hands on Ceremonials, the follow-up album from this flame haired Amazonian (she’s a very impressive 6ft).
Florence has an unbridled talent that the vast majority of UK female ‘pop’ artists can only dream about, but she had some MASSIVE shoes to fill after Lungs. Ceremonials is certainly a lot ‘bigger’ than its predecessor – most of Lungs was recorded in a series of obscure locations, such as an empty swimming baths and a Synagogue, and I genuinely think that lent to the sound.
Ceremonials doesn’t feel as personal to the listener as their previous album – I’m Not Calling You a Liar felt like it was being sung in to your ear, and My Boy Builds Coffins was haunting.
Compared to these tracks, most of the songs on Ceremonials feel like Florence has been told to just ‘let go’. Gone are the whispered promises of her previous tracks – Florence means business and she’s giving it everything she’s got.
This is certainly not to say that I don’t like Ceremonials. I actually love it – it’s just different. Tracks to watch out for are Shake It Out, What The Water Gave Me, and Leave My Body – all are fantastic and totally encapsulate what this group are all about. I genuinely think that Shake It Out is possibly the best song that they have ever released. Yes, better than Rabbit Heart.
If anyone can deliver the ceremony and melodrama required to pull off these big, turbulent songs it’s Florence. I don’t think there’s any stopping this band, and I’ll be whipping this album out at every available opportunity over the coming months.
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