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There’s a point just past the halfway mark on “Shake It Out,” the rousing first single from Florence + the Machine's second studio release, when the swelling guitars, organs, and strings, staccato percussion, and Florence Welch's air-raid siren of a voice lock up in a herculean battle over which one is going to launch itself into the stratosphere first. It’s a contest that plays out at least once on each of Ceremonials' immaculately produced 12 tracks. Such carefully calculated moments of rhapsody would dissolve into redundant treacle in less capable hands, but Welch does emotional bombast better than any of her contemporaries, and when she wails into the black abyss above, the listener can’t help but return the call. Bigger and bolder than 2009’s excellent Lungs, Ceremonials rolls in like fog over the Thames, doling out a heavy-handed mix of Brit-pop-infused neo-soul anthems and lush, movie trailer-ready ballads that fuse the bluesy, electro-despair of Adele with the ornate, gothic melodrama of Kate Bush and Floodland-era Sisters of Mercy. Producer Paul Epworth (Bloc Party, Friendly Fires) knows that the fiercest weapon in his arsenal is Florence herself, and he stacks her vocals accordingly, creating a fevered, pagan gospel choir on “What the Water Gave Me” and “Leave My Body,” a ghostly, Phil Spector-ish chorale on the surprisingly Beatlesque “Breaking Down,” and a defiant, uplifting horde of merry pranksters on the spirited “Heartlines,” resulting in that rare sophomore outing that not only manages to avoid the slump, but bests its predecessor in the process.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
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Rick Koster, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Saunders, Percussion, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Richard George, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Burdge, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sally Herbert, String Arranger, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Epworth, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Tom Elmhirst, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Warren Zielinski, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Lucy Shaw, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Gillon Cameron, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Max Baillie, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ben Baptie, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Oli Langford, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Jessie Ware, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Jack Peñate, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Lisa Moorish, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Rusty Bradshaw, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Nathan Bullion, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Sian Alice Ahern, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Ben Crook, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Mark Saunders, Percussion, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mark 'Spike' Stent, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Matty Green, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Epworth, Producer, Organ, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Tom Hull, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Jessie Ware, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, Percussion, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Jack Peñate, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Lisa Moorish, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Rusty Bradshaw, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Nathan Bullion, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Sian Alice Ahern, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Ben Crook, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Mark Saunders, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Epworth, Producer - Craig Silvey, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Francis White, ComposerLyricist - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Bryan Wilson, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Jessie Ware, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Jack Peñate, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Lisa Moorish, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Rusty Bradshaw, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Sian Alice Ahern, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Ben Crook, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Mark Saunders, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Epworth, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Tom Elmhirst, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ben Baptie, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Hull, Piano, Programming, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jessie Ware, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Jack Peñate, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Lisa Moorish, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Nathan Bullion, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Sian Alice Ahern, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Rick Koster, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Saunders, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Richard George, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Burdge, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sally Herbert, String Arranger, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Epworth, Producer - Tom Elmhirst, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Warren Zielinski, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Gillon Cameron, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - James Ford, ComposerLyricist - Max Baillie, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ben Baptie, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Oli Langford, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Rusty Bradshaw, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Nathan Bullion, Programming, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Mark Saunders, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Nikolaj Torp Larsen, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Epworth, Producer - Tom Elmhirst, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Francis White, ComposerLyricist - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Isabella Summers, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ben Baptie, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Rusty Bradshaw, Hammond Organ, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Rick Koster, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Saunders, Percussion, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Richard George, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Burdge, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mark 'Spike' Stent, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Matty Green, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Sally Herbert, String Arranger, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Epworth, Producer - Warren Zielinski, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Gillon Cameron, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Max Baillie, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Isabella Summers, String Arranger, Keyboards, Asst. Recording Engineer, Programming, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Oli Langford, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Jessie Ware, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Jack Peñate, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Lisa Moorish, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Rusty Bradshaw, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Sian Alice Ahern, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Ben Crook, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Rick Koster, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Saunders, Bass Guitar, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Richard George, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Burdge, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sally Herbert, String Arranger, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Epworth, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Warren Zielinski, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Gillon Cameron, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Craig Silvey, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Max Baillie, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Isabella Summers, Synthesizer, AssociatedPerformer - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Bryan Wilson, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Oli Langford, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Jessie Ware, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Jack Peñate, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Lisa Moorish, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Rusty Bradshaw, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Sian Alice Ahern, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Mark Saunders, Percussion, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Epworth, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Tom Elmhirst, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ben Baptie, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Jessie Ware, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Jack Peñate, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Lisa Moorish, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Rusty Bradshaw, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Nathan Bullion, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Sian Alice Ahern, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Mark Saunders, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Nikolaj Torp Larsen, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Richard George, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Burdge, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sally Herbert, String Arranger, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Epworth, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Tom Elmhirst, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Warren Zielinski, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Gillon Cameron, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Max Baillie, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ben Baptie, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Oli Langford, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Rusty Bradshaw, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Rick Roster, Violin, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Rick Koster, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Mark Saunders, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Richard George, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Ian Burdge, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sally Herbert, String Arranger, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Epworth, Producer - Warren Zielinski, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Gillon Cameron, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Max Baillie, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Isabella Summers, Keyboards, Asst. Recording Engineer, Programming, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Oli Langford, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Mark Saunders, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Epworth, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Craig Silvey, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Bryan Wilson, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tom Hull, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Rusty Bradshaw, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
John Davis, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Isabella Summers, Producer, Synthesizer Programming, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist, Bass (Vocal) - Austen Jux-Chandler, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ben Roulston, Producer, Engineer, Additional Producer, StudioPersonnel - Sam Paul Evans, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Mark Saunders, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Epworth, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Craig Silvey, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Isabella Summers, Synthesizer, AssociatedPerformer - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Bryan Wilson, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer - Nathan Bullion, Programming, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Mark Saunders, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Mark Rankin, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ted Jensen, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Epworth, Producer - Craig Silvey, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Bryan Wilson, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Amanda Gosein, ComposerLyricist - Rusty Bradshaw, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Ackroyd, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Tom Monger, Harp, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
John Davis, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Eg White, Producer, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Francis White, ComposerLyricist - Florence + The Machine, MainArtist - Florence Welch, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited
Album review
There’s a point just past the halfway mark on “Shake It Out,” the rousing first single from Florence + the Machine's second studio release, when the swelling guitars, organs, and strings, staccato percussion, and Florence Welch's air-raid siren of a voice lock up in a herculean battle over which one is going to launch itself into the stratosphere first. It’s a contest that plays out at least once on each of Ceremonials' immaculately produced 12 tracks. Such carefully calculated moments of rhapsody would dissolve into redundant treacle in less capable hands, but Welch does emotional bombast better than any of her contemporaries, and when she wails into the black abyss above, the listener can’t help but return the call. Bigger and bolder than 2009’s excellent Lungs, Ceremonials rolls in like fog over the Thames, doling out a heavy-handed mix of Brit-pop-infused neo-soul anthems and lush, movie trailer-ready ballads that fuse the bluesy, electro-despair of Adele with the ornate, gothic melodrama of Kate Bush and Floodland-era Sisters of Mercy. Producer Paul Epworth (Bloc Party, Friendly Fires) knows that the fiercest weapon in his arsenal is Florence herself, and he stacks her vocals accordingly, creating a fevered, pagan gospel choir on “What the Water Gave Me” and “Leave My Body,” a ghostly, Phil Spector-ish chorale on the surprisingly Beatlesque “Breaking Down,” and a defiant, uplifting horde of merry pranksters on the spirited “Heartlines,” resulting in that rare sophomore outing that not only manages to avoid the slump, but bests its predecessor in the process.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 01:12:01
- Main artists: Florence + The Machine
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Universal-Island Records Ltd.
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
© 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited, Licensed exclusively to Universal Republic Records, a Division of UMG Records Inc. ℗ 2011 Universal Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited, Licensed exclusively to Universal Republic Records, a Division of UMG Records Inc.
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