Florence And The Machine ‘Ceremonials’

Florence And The Machine
‘Ceremonials’
(Island)

Most of us did not really anticipate the level of success Florence And The Machine would accomplish when debut album ‘Lungs’ was released back in 2009. Sure, there was clearly mass potential with her eccentric ways, powerful voice, captivating live performances, not to mention the massive singles that she churned out almost effortlessly. But seemingly overnight, Florence Welch became an international superstar, performing ‘Dog Days’ at MTV’s VMA awards to almost a billion viewing figures and rubbing shoulders with Beyoncé. So after taking a well-earned rest from superstardom, Florence and co. entered into Abbey Road’s legendary Studio 3 for a five week period with producer Paul Epworth. ‘Ceremonials’ is the result. Liam Lidbetter takes a plunge into her eagerly anticipated second album…

‘Only If For A Night’
The gentle pluck of a harp directs you straight back into familiar territory as Florence’s trademark warble is met with the cavernous crack of a snare. Not exactly your archetypal opener, ‘Only If For A Night’ swings the album slowly into motion. Imagine you’ve gone to a fancy restaurant, got a nice table, but the waiter appears to have forgotten to take your order, so you’re just left with the complimentary nibbles.

‘Shake It Out’

If ‘Only If For A Night’ feels like an aperitif, ‘Shake It Out’ is your starter arriving, or at least the waiter apologising for the wait and offering you a drink on the house. The driving Motown-esque beat against the hymnal organ drone is a liberating contrast. Typically adorned with intricate layers of strings, guitars, woodwind and heart-wrenching harmonies, it moves incrementally toward a euphoric coda. And as if by coincidence, here’s the waiter with those drinks.

‘What The Water Gave Me’

This first single from the album, ‘What The Water Gave Me’ is Florence on top form, genre-blending her way back into your consciousness. The ghostly guitar slides on the intro soon become an overdriven chug joined by a stinging Hammond riff, as she begs “Lay me down/Let the only sound be the overflow, pockets full of stones”.

‘Never Let Me Go’
Brimming with stately harmonies and a bass-snare-reverb combination that would make Phil Spector proud, ‘Never Let Me Go’ carries with it a celestial quality that comes dangerously close to actually sounding like a hymn. The chorus, complete with church choir and falsetto screeches, might start to irritate the life out of you towards the end, but it’s also a reminder of Florence’s ear for great melody and penchant for rich arrangements.

‘Breaking Down’
The light-bounce and jovial melodies of ‘Breaking Down’ wouldn’t seem out of place on a late-60’s concept album that’s not called ‘Sgt. Peppers’. Instrumentally led, the song features bursts and snippets of vocals which help to break free to cyclic bassline and aid the song in being generally just great.

‘Lover To Lover’
A pounding piano riff lifts ‘Lover To Lover’ into a rolling soul-rock stomp, an influence more evident here than on debut ‘Lungs’. Florence adopts a Martha Reeves howl for the chorus, but the basslines and ooo-ing of the breakdown are more akin to a mid-60’s Marvin Gaye. However, Florence is one of those artists lucky enough to be in a position where musical comparisons seem so far fetched as ultimately, it just sounds like Florence And The Machine.

No Light, No Light
An introduction of cinematic string arrangements, which may or may not have been plagiarised from a BBC4 documentary soundtrack, a harp’s glissando and the familiar boom of the kick drum lets you know we’re in. Gloriously epic, brimming with energy and laden in texture, ‘No Light, No Light’ is the Florence you know, for better or for worse.

‘Seven Devils’
Florence has a knack for bringing in outside influences to hone her sound, creating a unique juxtaposition of soul-rock and epic-pop against the more classical and world music styles she seemingly adores. This is apparent here, in the aptly named ‘Seven Devils’ which sees a ghostly organ coupled against a harrowing piano tinker into a frighteningly sinister baroque-style choral movement. Disturbingly brilliant.

‘Heartlines’
What strikes you most as the album progresses is the inherent confidence which Florence has adopted throughout. Not necessarily on a personal or contextual level, but within the songwriting. ‘Heartlines’ is powerful and intense, with the percussion lending the track an almost quasi-Latin feel counterbalanced with some much-loved primitive chanting.

‘Spectrum’
“Say my name, and everybody will illuminate” she boldly pronounces, lest we forget that “We are shining, and we will never be afraid again”, at least not with the pulsating groove which pulls this along at a running pace. The strings glide effortlessly through contrapuntal harmony as Florence’s sole statement resonates throughout.

‘All This And Heaven Too’
Devils, hymns, churches, harps, angels, choirs and various other snippets of religious iconography crop up all over ‘Ceremonials’, but surprisingly ‘All This And Heaven Too’, which despite the heavenly high notes, sounds the least hymn-like of all. But whether or not the title suggests hope or disdain for such a phenomenon is left really to your own interpretation. Religious debates aside though, the revolving chord sequence is a magnanimous effort and the sheer size of it is almost daunting.

‘Leave My Body’
The primitive chant returns for Flo’s final goodbye, underpinned by a chord movement that would not have gone amiss in Thom Yorke’s musical vocabulary circa 1997. ‘Leave My Body’ is both driving and emotive, showing off a visceral nature which brings ‘Ceremonials’ to a glistening conclusion. The pessimist will say the album is a bunch of outtakes from debut ‘Lungs’. The optimist will say she has taken all the elements of the aforementioned and developed them into something even more wondrous. You decide.

‘Ceremonials’ will be reviewed in the November/December issue of The Fly.