[Review/Listen] – Florence + The Machine – “Ceremonials”

Once upon time there was a little girl.  Little girls, especially ones that aren’t princesses, are often underestimated for their abilities to become commanding adults.  Despite such a setback, this particular little girl grew into a woman with flaming red hair who became the front woman of a band.  She sang about things haunting and beautiful, grotesque and powerful.  Maybe Florence Welch’s life isn’t a fairy tale, but Florence + The Machine’s new release, “Ceremonials”, reminds me of one.

Welch’s voice has this modal, haunting quality I’ve always associated with the likes of Shirley Manson, Karen O, and, on occasion, Debby Harry. A voice, I might add, capable of even making domestic violence sound sexy (hint: it’s not). Throughout “Ceremonials”, Welch’s voice transports me to a fairyland. But the fantastical tales told in “Ceremonials” are more akin to those of the Brothers Grimm, rather than the ones purveyed by Walt Disney.

Just take a peak at the lyrics. In “Breaking Down”, Welch’s voice swells in and out, up and down in such a familiar, disturbing way, telling us how she’s  “All alone/ on the edge of sleep./ My old familiar friend/ comes and lies down next to me.” “Heartlines” warns “Oh the river, oh the river,/ it’s running free. /And oh the joy, oh the joy, / it brings to me./ But I know it’ll have to drown me/ before it can breathe easy.”

Such sentiments are not meant for those who expect every story to have a happy ending.  But, as in all proper tellings of fairy tales, Florence + The Machine lines its cloudy, grim messages with slivers of hope: “And it’s hard to dance/ with the devil on your back,/ so shake him off.”   The deceptively simplistic hopefulness of such a statement shouldn’t be lost on you, but maybe that’s why there’s always a bit of magic in fairy tales.

The instrumentals throughout the album fall in line with the ethereal, eerie quality of Welch’s voice, giving “Ceremonials” a more grown up, staid feel than its predecessor, “Lungs” . The emotive, raw qualities of Welch’s voice, rather than lending an ironic twist to cheery, pop beats, help to carry the weight of the tracks.  Her voice has become imbedded within the music, rather than being trapped for use as a gimmicky counterpoint.  This weightiness is also communicated through a percussive heaviness running through tracks like “What The Water Gave Me” and “Seven Devils”.

Though there’s a proliferation of these slower feeling, heavier sounding tracks on the album, “Ceremonials” does still make frequent use of the band’s peppier rhythmic devices.  “Spectrum” picks up the beat towards the end of the album, in a move reminiscent of 80’s Eurodance tracks that I grew up listening to exclusively at roller rinks.  “Bedroom Hymns” marries the sacred and the profane with a delicious irreverence: “I’m not here looking for absolution/ because I found myself an old solution.”

Florence + The Machine’s “Ceremonials” demonstrates that the band has evolved in the best ways.  They’ve highlighted Welch’s soulful voice without allowing her to overpower the roughly hewn and evocative sound of their instrumentals. And how fitting for a sophomore album to embody fairy tales, dancing on the precipice between adolescence and adulthood.

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