Album Review: Florence and the Machine - Ceremonials

Florence Welch, aka Florence and the Machine, was one of the breakthrough acts of 2010 even though her debut album Lungs was actually released halfway through 2009. Lungs didn’t go completely under the radar when it was released - it was number two in the UK chart for five consecutive weeks - but it didn’t quite take off like it did at the start of the new year when it reached number one. 

The second rise of the album, this time to the peak, was undoubtedly helped by the constant reoccurrence of Florence and the Machine songs in a host of films and T.V programs. ‘Dog Days Are Over’, ‘Kiss With A Fist’ and ‘You Got the Love’ were, among others, pretty much everywhere. Consequently, the album spent a total of sixty-five consecutive weeks in the top forty. So, it’s fair to say that the expectation was high for Florence’s second album, entitled Ceremonials.

The album kicks off with the sparse piano of ‘Only If For A Night’, as that delectable voice chimes in for the first time. It is a straightforward combination between Florence’s enticing vocals and the piano, but one that is incredibly effective. The album’s first official single, ‘Shake It Out’, is a colossal song that starts with an organ that forms the basis of song, before exploding into an irresistibly addictive chorus of “Shake it up, shake it up, woaaah / And it’s hard to dance with the devil on your back so shake him off”.

‘What The Water Gave Me’ is a down beat, dark and haunting track. It begins slowly, building up to another massive choir-backed chorus before finishing with a crescendo of noise, combining a heavy guitar with beautiful strings. 

Ceremonials certainly feels more cohesive and refined than Lungs, which was an album fractured by a number of big singles. It doesn’t contain the random anomalies that were present in the debut, such as the bluesy ‘Girl With One Eye’. The closest Ceremonials comes to blues is on closing track, ‘Leave My Body’, which builds into a sprawling epic with the huge choir-backing making another appearance throughout the song.

The themes of death and violence were weaved throughout Lungs and there is certainly no let up on the dark lyrics, here. “See I was dead when I woke up this morning, And I'll be dead before the day is done,” sings Florence on ‘Seven Devils’, a brooding number that features a spooky, clanking piano that is reminiscent of the Goosebumps theme. ‘Breaking Down’ also starts with a piano jingle that sounds like it’s been lifted from a theme song to a children’s program. The song chugs along as Florence produces a husky, lower-pitched vocal over more strings, creating a ghostly and atmospheric slow-burner.

Yet much of Ceremonials is bigger and more grandiose than its predecessor. ‘Heartlines’ is a powerful, evocative song that begins with tribal drums and chants as Florence’s voice dominates another monster chorus. ‘No Light, No Light’ hits the heights of ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’ with its booming, Kate Bush-like drums, twinkling harps and organ fusing together in another full-blooded track. Whilst the constant tendency towards anthemic choruses does verge on tiresome, it’s difficult not to get caught up in the polished and expansive sound of the finished album. However, over-the-top or not, Florence’s voice is captivating.

The second half of the album doesn’t quite meet the strong precedent set early on - especially the tame ‘All This And Heaven Too’ - but there is a resoluteness in Florence and the Machine’s constant striving for the melodramatic epic. Certainly, Ceremonials is at its best when Florence and the Machine are in their most extravagant, melodramatic and boldest form. It undoubtedly misses the punchy rock that ‘Kiss With A Fist’ gave Lungs, but overall Ceremonials is a satisfying and immersive experience. Under pressure to deliver, Florence has returned with an impressive follow-up, one that consolidates the foundations of Lungs, whilst also taking her sound to the next level.


4/5