Florence + the Machine - Heartlines
Okay, after listening to this album essentially non-stop for nearly a week, I think I can assess it more calmly. For starters, Ceremonials is very, very consistent. The songwriting is strong all around - no instant winners like "Howl" or "Rabbit Heart", sure, but there isn't a single song in the album I can call pure filler.
Every composition has some interesting, unique detail that sets it apart from the others - from the constantly changing tempo, the heart melting chorus and electricity in "What The Water Gave" to the strange and seductive synth-fiddle mix of "Spectrum", passing through the vigorous percussion in "Heartlines" and the lush swing in "Lover to Lover". Even the worst song in the album, "Seven Devils", has the haunting backing vocals (which are just -top notch- throughout the album to begin with) and that plangent piano line creeping in as the main melody, which are more than worth your time.
Also, deliberate tricks like the chamber-like echo permeating every track just give it a very distinctive and personal flavor. In that regard, it ekes out ahead of "Lungs", where it had a bunch of filler and was kind of all over the place at times, though held together by the songwriting (particularly the vocal songwriting: Florence's vocal skill applies to both modulation and melodic acumen to an astounding degree, and it's what makes the sum of the bands' parts -work- like they do). This time, the songwriting is less prominent, but more consistent, and the entire machine gets to shine too. Nice follow-up, even though it may leave some fans of the first album cold. There's a definite atmospheric cohesion going here, and I -like- it.
