Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials
BY BURAK ŞAHİN (IR/IV)
burak_s@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
Sometimes someone has a voice that's older than their real age. Florence Welch is one of these people. She was born in 1986, but she has a voice that was born in the 1970s. Although she released an album in 2007 with a band called Ashok, we were really introduced to Welch in 2008, when she sang "Dog Days Are Over." In 2009, her new band, Florence + The Machine, released their debut album, "Lungs." They then started releasing singles from the album. After Florence sang "You Got the Love," we all fell in love with this band.
Florence + The Machine's sound can be described as a combination of pop, soft rock and blues. Florence was immediately compared with some glorious female vocalists, such as PJ Harvey and Bjork. After winning the "Best Breakthrough Act" award, Florence + The Machine came to the attention of huge numbers of people. While touring the rock festivals, she and her band showed that their live performances, including brilliant cover songs, were also stunning.
According to many music critics, the pressure on the band increased enormously after the success of "Lungs." While we were anticipating their second album, on October 31, 2011, "Ceremonials" was released. The single "What the Water Gave Me," which we heard in August, had already increased our expectations. Last month, we started to listen to this glorious album. The second official single, "Shake It Out," and the album itself hit the music charts. In the UK, Florence + The Machine took the #1 position from Coldplay -- with guitarist Rob Ackrody announcing this news on Twitter with his "S**k it" tweet.
Some critics have accused Florence of screaming rather than singing. However, expressing yourself in a different way should be accepted, and if the results are good, they should be appreciated. This album shows us the heights her voice can climb, again with beautiful lyrics. Florence + The Machine have preserved the nature of their first album, but reached a brighter and important point in their development with "Ceremonials," which includes more dramatic songs. "No Light, No Light," "Never Let Me Go" and "Leave My Body" are some of the best tracks from the album. In a review of "Ceremonials," it's stated that "Florence goes bloodier," and I agree.
NME Cool List 2011
As it does every year, NME Magazine has announced its "cool list" for 2011. The list is kind of weird if we look at number 1. The Guardian described it as "The NME Cool List: people you've probably never heard of." Here is the controversial list:
50- Liam Gallagher
49- Ronnie Vannucci (The Killers/Big Talk)
48- St. Vincent
47- Merrill Garbus (tUnE-yArDs)
46- Reni (The Stone Roses)
45- Johnny Lloyd (Tribes)
44- Jordan Gatesmith (Howler)
43- Toddla T
42- Nick Wire (Manic Street Preachers)
41- Bethany Costentino (Best Coast)
40- Orlando Higginbottom (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs)
39- Fred Macpherson (Spector)
38- King Krule
37- Björk
36- Frank Turner
35- Tyler, The Creator (Odd Future)
34- Ian Brown (The Stone Roses)
33- Hayden Thorpe (Wild Beasts)
32- Miles Kane
31- ASAP Rocky
30- Kanye West
29- Kurt Vile
28- Tom Cohen (Scum)
27- Drake
26- PJ Harvey
25- Christopher Owens (Girls)
24- Jack Steadman (Bombay Bicycle Club)
23- Elias Bender Rønnenfelt (Iceage)
22- Freddie Cowan (The Vaccines)
21- Joe Mount (Metronomy)
20- Florence Welch
19- Orlando Weeks (The Maccabees)
18- Charlie Fink (Noah & The Whale)
17- Janelle Monáe
16- Gaspard Auge (Justice)
15- Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys)
14- Katy B
13- Laura Marling
12- Dave Grohl
11- Noel Gallagher
10- Ellery Roberts (WU LYF)
9- Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys)
8- Theo Hutchcraft (Hurts)
7- Rhys Webb (The Horrors)
6- Lana Del Rey
5 & 4- Tom Meighan & Serge Pizzorno (Kasabian) [tie]
3- Honor Titus (Cerebral Ballzy)
2- Jarvis Cocker
1- Azealia Banks