Ceremonials

Summary

Ceremonials is instrumentally minimal with layers of rich, full vocal tracks.  It's a dance album, but not a frantic one (due in part to the spare instrumental tracks).  Welch belts at times, as on the chorus to "Shake It Out" "it's hard to dance with the devil on your back, so shake him off."  But for her belted vocals aren't strained: they have the quality of a gospel singer. The vocal performance is the primary focus of each song.

Critical Evaluation

The cover and liner notes of Florence & the Machine's second album Ceremonials seem to be dedicated to a photo shoot for singer Florence Welch: with Welch as a 40s film star.  This is a statement in itself.  In an era when many female artists adopt over-sexualized personalities to sell albums, Welch stands out.  This is clear not only from her fully clothed, sophisticated image, but also in the music.  There is nothing sultry about her vocal delivery: she emits a clear power.  It's a feminine power, but not one steeped in sex (think Britney Spears or Katy Perry's skimpy wardrobes or Lana Del Rey's smokey, sexy vocal delivery).  Like the album's cover, the songs are theatrical: carrying the drama (but not the cutesy lyrical word play or the standard key changes) of musical theater.  The music is anthemic, but Welch doesn't write anthems; it's grandiose, but it's not bombastic.

Reader’s Annotation

Ceremonials is vocally driven, danceable, energizing music: an oasis in a frenetic pop landscape filled with sci-fi synths and overly syncopated drum beats.

Information about the author

From the band website: 

Let’s talk about magic. Because music, at its best, is a kind of magic that lifts you up and takes you somewhere else. “I want my music to sound like throwing yourself out of a tree, or off a tall building, or as if you’re being sucked down into the ocean and you can’t breathe,” says Florence Welch. “It’s something overwhelming and all-encompassing that fills you up, and you’re either going to explode with it, or you’re just going to disappear.” 

Florence writes her best songs when she’s drunk or has a hangover, because that’s when the freedom, the feral music comes, creating itself wildly from the fragments gathered in her notebooks and in her head. “You’re lucid,” she explains, “but you’re not really there. You’re floating through your own thoughts, and you can pick out what you need. I like those weird connections in the universe. I feel that life’s like a consistent acid trip, those times when things keep coming back.” 

Florence herself is a mass of contradictions: she’s tough yet she’s terrified, a bundle of nerves and passion, of darkness and pure joy. “I feel things quite intensely, which is why the music has to be so intense. I’m either really sad or really happy, I’m tired or completely manic. That’s when I’m at my most creative, but it’s also dangerous for me. I feel I could write some good songs, or break some hearts. Or tables. Or glasses.” 

As a performer she can seem fearless, but she’s also far too quick to pass judgement on herself. This is the woman, after all who got into Camberwell art college by making a huge floral sign telling herself ‘You are a twat.’ She says she’s a geek, who loses all control when in love. She’s also something increasingly rare and precious in a time of karaoke pop: an artist who has found her own, authentic voice. 

Her soaring, epic vocals, quirky melodies and self-contained musical world have already won her the 2009 Critics Choice Award at the Brits. Some compare her to Kate Bush. You’ll also find touches of Tom Waits and Nick Cave in her dark visions, and if you heard a little of Bjork too, she’d find it a compliment. But mainly, Florence is out on her own: an exhilarating place to be, she points out, but also a little scary. Her debut album ‘Lungs’ is made of harps, choirs, drums, elevator shafts, bits of metal, love, death, fireworks, string quartets, stamping, sighing, strange electronic wailing, lambs, lions, sick, broken glass, blood, moon, stars, drink, coffins, teeth, water, wedding dresses, and the silences in between.  (Island Universal Records, 2012).

Genre

Music: Alternative Dance

Curriculum Ties

Welch's vocal style would warrant study by a chorus.  Her marketed image may also warrant study in any class that examines culture.

Booktalking Ideas

1) "Shake it Out" probably has the hookiest chorus.  Playing this song might intrigue potential listeners.
2) Showing the glamorous photographs of the cover might also spark conversation about the album.

Reading Level/Interest Age

7th grade and up.

Challenge Issues

Some parents are opposed to secular music.  Some lyrics can be dark (there are songs about death and drowning).  Welch was discovered when she was drunk and singing in a bathroom; this story may be unappealing to parents.  As a person, she may say things parents don't want to hear.

I would openly greet any patron who presented a challenge to the work, giving them ample time to detail their complaint.  I would listen attentively.  To respond to these challenges I would have some reviews of the work on hand.   I would be prepared to explain that as a public institution libraries "cannot limit access on the basis of age or other characteristics" (ALA, 1999).  I would have copies of the library's collection policy on hand.  I would be prepared to politely discuss that parents can control what their children are exposed to by coming to the library with them and examining books they check out.  If the Teen Advisory Group had written reviews of the work I'd have them handy.  While it may be of little comfort to certain parents, I would also be prepared to discuss my staunch support of intellectual freedom and abhorrence of censorship.  As a last resort, I would be sure to keep copies or a reconsideration form on hand.
 

Why did you include this book in the titles you selected?

It is both current and popular.  It appeals to a wide audience and features a strong female artist.

References

American Library Association. (1999). Strategies and tips for dealing with challenges to library materials. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/copingwithchallenges/strategiestips

Island Universal Records, Ltd. (2012). About. Retrieved from http://florenceandthemachine.net/biography