Florence and her machine take their majestic blend of folk, soul and pop to new heights on “Ceremonials.”
As one of 2009’s breakout successes, Florence + the Machine has seen its popularity soar, thanks to the power of singles “Dog Days Are Over” and “Cosmic Love” off 2009’s “Lungs.”
The collective is led by Florence Welch, a fiery singer with an air-raid siren voice and an ear for melody and composition.
At first glance, she is the latest in a long line of British soul divas. Yet there’s something that sets her music apart from the classic soul beltings of Adele or the pop stylings of Ellie Goulding.
Welch is closer to an indie songstress such as Regina Spektor or Neko Case, albeit one that blows up her songs into gorgeous alt-indie-soul creations.
“Ceremonials” doesn’t stray much from that formula. The album reflects her newfound ambitions as well as experience touring with stadium rock giants U2.
At the start of the album, the listener is lulled in by joyous church bells, only to be jarred out of the tranquil scene by piano hits and Welch opening her lungs and heart with the simple phrase “I had a