Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Sophomore Album Grapples With Emotion

ISLAND
ISLAND

Florence Welch, the redheaded waif who fronts Florence + the Machine, brings her otherworldly sound from Lungsstraight into the depths of the ocean for Ceremonials. She cites death by drowning as the inspiration for her second album, which is evident in lyrics like “A thousand miles onto the sea bed / I found the place to rest my head” from “Never Let Me Go.” The title of the song seems to suggest that Welch could be imploring a lover, but a closer listen reveals that she is wooing the ocean.

Several songs do deal with troubled relationships, though. “No Light, No Light,” which was recorded on a tour bus in Amsterdam with Isabella “Machine” Summers, tries to convince a lover not to leave. Welch begs, “You can choose what stays and what fades away / And I’d do anything to make you stay.”

It becomes apparent rather quickly that Ceremonials grapples with heavy and even morbid content, but there’s a certain romanticism to the melancholia — that’s the magic of this album.

The most epic track is “Seven Devils,” which also happens to be the creepiest (“Holy water cannot help you now”). The screeching strings hint at the style of Hitchcock’s classic films, but the scope of the song is so grand that it evokes images from films like The Omen.

“Heartlines” begins with cawing crows and tribal chanting. The first stanza states, “I’ve seen it in you / The entrails of the animals / The blood running through.” While that may sound pretty gory, the insistent drumbeat makes the tune catchy.

Welch co-wrote “What the Water Gave Me,” a single released in August, as a response to Virginia Woolf’s suicide. The beginning of the song has a spine-chilling quality that blossoms into a full-blown ballad-type sound.

Ceremonials‘ title comes from “Only for a Night,” the album’s opening track. “And I did cartwheels in your honor, dancing on tiptoes / My own secret ceremonials before the service began / In the graveyard, doing handstands.” Welch can’t seem to stay away from cemeteries, ghosts or demons (inner or otherwise).

Welch wrestles with sanity and salvation in “Breaking Down” and “Leave My Body.” In “Lover to Lover,” she laments, “There’s no salvation for me now / No space among the clouds / And I’ve seen that I’m heading down.”

The album’s deluxe version comes with four extra songs, including an electronic demo of “What the Water Gave Me.” Another option is the two-disc set that includes acoustic versions of “Shake It Out” and “Heartlines.” Welch’s voice is unbridled and backed by gentle guitar, piano and harp; purchasing the two-disc set is completely worth it.

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