Florence and the Machine - Cermonials CD Album Review
It isn’t so much pop as it is Indie but it’s definite proof that Florence is a force to be reckoned with vocally and lyrically.
You more than likely know or know of Florence And the Machine with her hit cover of Youve Got The Love and the two mega popular singles Rabbit Heart and the underplayed Drumming Song which was arguably the best song off Lungs. The album was played all the time everywhere you went for what felt like forever, so much so that you probably got more than a little sick of a fair few of the tracks. So new material comes much welcomed. Her new album Ceremonials is a magnificent follow up with the brilliant Paul Epworth producing the whole thing. Instead of many collaborators like her first album which made it sound somehow messy, moving from pure pop to Indie to folk, it was a solid debut but was more style of substance. This is perfectly fine as we know how much labels like to show off a new power house singer by throwing them into a mix of things, but here, Florence has taken control, from the power ballads Lover To Lover to the dark Seven Devils each track has had the same amount of detail and delicate touch. There really is no weak song on this 12 track album sprawling a long 55 minutes all told, a length you remarkably dont see often in the world of mainstream music. Lets leave Florence out of this for a minute and talk about The Machine, the instrumentation on this album is fantastic helped out by brilliant mastering, getting the balance between the drums and the harp which makes the entire album feel massive. On Only If For a Night the Harp almost sounds like raindrops whilst the drums bounce in almost like thunder, the mix between them both is incredible, its just one of many moments which give you chills. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svLhagAmAak What The Water Gave Me evokes nostalgia, you get the feeling that youve experienced this song before, years ago, mainly due to the submerged bass and the stretched guitars throughout the verses although on Lover To Lover, you dont get nostalgia, you get Déja Vu, its a nod to countless songs over decades of music, whilst never feeling brand new it feels warm and friendly like a past friend or a rekindled love. No Light, No Light is the albums magnum opus. Its just a massive, massive song, it doesnt even try to be tame, its wreckless and its also Florences most intricate and powerful performance yet, the vocals are downright mesmerising, the Harp coming in just the right places with the Organ and Piano coming together to sound almost anthemic and God like, my only criticism is that its the next single to be released which although is good for arguments sake. A song of this proportion will usually be edited, overlooked for what it should be and have a shitty video of her in a studio room when it should be the total opposite, this song is made for the likes of Glastonburys Pyramid Stage not for a 3 minute radio cut, but this is one of the main problems with the album. All the songs on here have a purpose and a meaning, cutting a 5 minute track down to 3 minutes ruins the impact the song has on first listen say, if you heard What The Water Gave Me in a 3 minute form, it wouldnt have the same effect it does in its original state. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am6rArVPip8&ob=av2e The powerhouse that is Florence has never sounded so intense, spreading her vocal range to the downright insane on tracks like Breaking Down her voice goes from a deep whale to a high scream in 0 to 1 seconds, its impressive and its staggering, on Lungs we heard a tamed version of her voice compared to this, but the amazing thing is how even when the instrumentation becomes hectic and crowded with about 6 channels of instruments at once, her voice still rises above them all with ease, sure, the mastering helped her out, but you can actually imagine her overpowering the entire band at its most intense moments .I also have to praise the track listing, its perfectly paced which makes it a hell of a lot easier to enjoy as many albums at the moment seem to throw the tracks anywhere creating a somehow confused and messy album (a good example of this would be Class Actress, good album, badly paced). In due course what well see is a multi-platinum album, possibly a Mercury prize and definite Brits win for this album, its solid, powerful, long and entertaining. Its the right move for an artist only just getting to grips with her sound, it isnt so much pop as it is Indie but its definite proof that Florence is a force to be reckoned with vocally and lyrically. Florence and the Machine's new album Ceremonials is released October 31st.