Florence + the Machine’s sophomore album, Ceremonials, finally dropped today in the US! I’ll give it plenty of listens before I come up with a final verdict, but so far, it seems to be a bit more uneven/disjointed than Lungs. Sometimes the songs are so grandiose and eccentric that they drag (All This and Heaven Too), but other times the combination works (Seven Devils).
Then again, I didn’t like Shake It Out upon first listen, and only grew to love it after repeat plays, so I may end up changing my mind.
[Addendum - Nov. 16] Final verdict: Like the album a lot. Notice I didn’t say ‘love’ though, and that’s because 1) Ceremonials’s gothic feel can cross over into tiresome depending on the day and 2) there are a couple songs that I actually strongly dislike.
I’m a sucker for monochromatic icons, especially because they tend to somehow have more personality than a lot of the colored sets available. Am really bookmarking this for myself for potential future usage/inspiration…
My musical tastes tend to be a bit all over the place, and although I should probably be embarrassed to admit it, I can’t listen to this leaked track (Body Control) by Leighton Meester (yes, of Gossip Girl fame) without wanting to dance.
Florence + The Machine just came out with their debut album Lungs and I’ve been completely hooked onto their unique and lush sound. This is their cover of Beirut’s Postcards of Italy, which is a lot simpler than their usual fare, but allows you to focus on Florence’s soaring vocals.
I wouldn’t say The Time Traveler’s Wife was a masterpiece, but I liked it because it was about a very complicated sort of love — deeply flawed, steeped with obstacles, and simultaneously everlasting yet doomed. The ending was messy and a bit heartbreaking, much like the way real life often goes. Yet in the trailer, it looks like the promo monkeys have decided to sell it as a magical sort of fairy tale, which I feel cheapens the whole thing.
Then again, my area’s not marketing, so hey, maybe this is just the kind of thing that gets people to want to see a movie.
