Florence + The Machine - How Big How Blue How Beautiful

Florence + The Machine
How Big How Blue How Beautiful
2015

It takes a soft touch to balance super stardom and artistic integrity. There are of course outliers (Prince, Bjork ect.) who seem to be able to never compromise their song writing for commercial success but none have ever done it as masterfully as Florence Welch. How Big How Blue How Beautiful her third studio album finds a lovesick Florence still singing her heart out in that giant way that only she can do. This album succeeds not only in it's loud boisterous songs ("What Kind of Man", "Ship to Wreck") but also in the quiet times. Songs like "Various Storms & Saints" and "Long & Lost" are beautiful in their simplicity. The band said they were going for a stripped down version on themselves on this record and you get that but not in the taking instruments away or turning things down, instead their stripped down is the rawness of emotion. Her heart is right there on the page on this album, it's inescapable.

Welch isn't just trying to get over love lost or to relive former bliss on this record instead she wants burn the whole mother fucker to the absolute ground. Whomever "What Kind of Man" was based on is going to have a hard time getting away from the cutting lyrics that extend into "Delilah" as well. This album is full of exactly what you want from a Florence + The Machine record without pandering or compromising at all. At only 28 it seems like we will continue to get stellar music from Florence Welch for a long time to come, let's just hope she doesn't break any more feet giving live crowds everything she's got. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful? The answer is very.

9 out of 10