Ceremonials

Ceremonials is a *really* great album.

When I was a teenager, I used to sit in my bedroom for hours and listen to music. Sometimes I'd draw, sometimes I'd do homework, sometimes I'd read, but listening to music was the primary activity. As I have gotten older, less and less music has inspired me to devote my full attention to it. Now music has become more of an accompaniment to my life, a sort of background thing.

Florence + The Machine changed that- when "Lungs" first came out, it took back my whole attention. Every time I heard it, I found something new. Every few weeks, my favorite parts of the album would change. I'm still listening to it all the time.

Now I feel EXACTLY the same way about "Ceremonials"- I can't stop listening to it, every time I do I hear something new, and several of the songs give me goosebumps. When I'm away from it, I sing the songs to myself and get excited about being able to turn it back on again. It's sort of like a place I want to keep visiting- I know that sounds hokey, but it's been so long since I've felt so excited about music, I am kind of giddy about it.

As a whole, "Ceremonials" is a bit darker than "Lungs"- there's less twinkling of the harp (don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of beautiful harp!), less hopeful whispering about happiness, but in its place are soaring moments of Florence Welch's FULL voice (she's a powerhouse) and range. Wow.

If you liked "Lungs" at all, then I would absolutely recommend "Ceremonials". There's no doubt that Welch is the exception to the rule when it comes to the second album curse- this is the perfect followup to "Lungs" and not only does it sound perfectly right, it also *feels* perfectly right. It's dreamy and bittersweet and sweeping and epic.

I highly highly recommend this album.