Florence Welch is the heart of the project

Frankly speaking “the machine” part in the title of the British project Florence And The Machine is seen rather as a decoration than a meaningful unit. We have to admit that the amazing debut CD, Lungs, released in 2009, was not fully a classic work by a rock band with everything it implies. It was a Florence Welch record, named so after a skinny reddish-haired lady whom you would never remember again if you just look at her, and whom you’ll never forget if you hear how she sings. The other members of what is presented as an ensemble are hard workers in good faith who are not able to get out of the singer’s shadow and do not look like feeling that. Because Florence Welch is not just a face of a music union, but the source of its life, the key to its success and its only irreplaceable part. Florence And The Machine will be on top mainly thank to her voice. There are loads of rock-, indie-, and alternative performers, but there is only one with a front woman like her. This is the main reason why, despite Welch’s revealed intentions to move away from the original sound, listeners will by the new album Cereminals franticaly.

Florence And The Machine music darkened

The first three tracks from Ceremonials are equally impressive and contraversial. It seems that they all are made of pop-friendly rhythms and catchy choruses, but deep inside there is not that simplicity and plaineness that are obligatory in pop music. In If Only For A Night you are gently taken by the hand by harp and Piano and then led into the depth of the woods with tribal drums. Shake It Out proves that church organ may merge perfectly with powerful beats and features Florence exercizing all the evil that prevents her and her listeners from living and finding pleasure in life. After wandering in the forest and dropping by the temple, we find ourselves by water. What The Water Gave Me is a hypnotizing track dedicated to Virginia Wolf who, as you might remember, drowned. The mysticism is even stonger thank to the vocals bearing much resemblance with spiritual. A darker slant of Ceremonials compared to Lungs is not the only innovation here. Consisting of the same elements, the soun is more spacious owing to emphasized bass lines and choral singing almost everywhere on the background. Besides, the album features some considerable deviations from indie-rock in shape of soul-styled Lover To Lover, and Spectrum.

Creative liberty and expectedly high results

The synthesis of what once looked unmatchable, intellectual experimental rock with shouting pop music executed by Florence And The Machine brings a truly impressive result. With the same British elegance and mysteriousness (in lyrics and selection of secondary instrumentation), the Ceremonials music appears epic, at times explosive and always expressive, which has always characterized pop hits. And could you make out hits against the other material on the new Florence And The Machine album? Unlikely. Because the record is fine from start to end; even though the basic version stores a dozen tracks, and the deluxe has up to twenty. Why are all they so good. Well, because all of them offer Florence Welch’s vocals that have in these two years become even better. The main revelation of Ceremonials is a wide range of creative ideas available to the members of Florence And The Machine who are led by the superb singer. With her talent, they can try most unexpcted soultions, and the outcome will hardly leave the listener indifferent.

Alex Bartholomew
31.10.2011