Album review: 'High as Hope & # 39;

The latest album from Florence and the Machine has the same whimsical fairy tale sound that we find in the band's first three releases. But do not get me wrong: "High As Hope" represents a major change in the overall behavior of the group.

Although lead singer Florence Welch took the character of an enigmatic character on previous versions, she discovers everything about the new album. deeper in his own personal life without lacing in highly figurative language, a technique common to the group's earlier work. As a result, "High As Hope" develops a new aesthetic for the group – which interweaves the old aura inspired by the group's fantasy with a more modern and open lyric tone.

Example: "The hungry," The second single from the album opens on the lines "At 17, I started to let myself starve, I thought that love was a kind of emptiness. "The lyrics – a reference to an eating disorder a teenager – are far more self-explanatory about one's personal life than ever before.

Such lyrical precision dominates throughout "High As Hope", with songs like "South London Forever" and "Patricia" examples. In his introduction, Welch proclaims: "It is hard to write about being happy because the older I get, the more I find happiness to be an extremely simple subject. The song uses a narrative of flow of consciousness, as if Welch improvised and sang everything that came to him in the mind, rather than carefully calculating what each word and phrase would represent.

Rather than encrypting her message behind an easily misunderstood language, she did in the past, the song has an unparalleled sense of lyrical clarity, lending lyrics a higher accessibility and reliability.

The highlight of the album – lyrically and vocally – is undoubtedly "Big God". Released as the album's third single on June 19, the song discusses Welch's response to a lover ignoring his text messages. The lyrics transform a rather normal phase into a breakup in an event of massive proportions with lines like "I still love you the most, you will always be my favorite ghost" – a clever reference to the "ghost" act of someone. # 39; a.

Welch has always been a vocal force to be reckoned with, but "Big God" solidifies his reputation and confirms his extraordinary talents. His powerful and controlled voice helps to reinforce the weight of the lyrics. She begins the song in a very low register, with her notoriously powerful vibrato drawing the end of phrases like "You need a great god."

Welch sings with a low voice in the front lines, as if she vocally mimics the void that she sings. The stripped arrangement – just his voice, some simple piano chords and the occasional sound of percussion – adds a disturbing element to the air, reminiscent of "Remain Nameless," from the band's second album, although that seems more sinister.

Other high notes on the album include "100 Years" and "The End Of Love". On the old track, Welch nostalgically recounts his eternal love for a romantic partner atop harps and piano chords. like breaking the fourth wall. Both are stellar examples of the group combining Welch's new style of composition with a fantastic and almost antiques aesthetic.

"High as Hope" is not without flaws though. While the lyrical vulnerability is certainly appreciated, it diminishes some of the mystique surrounding Welch's character. She's no longer the flamboyant and eccentric songwriter who sings about building coffins or drowning in a river. And while its new opening makes "High As Hope" closer, it can be a little discordant for longtime fans who consider Welch as the narrator of his own personal fairy tale.

"Does not quite fit the originality of previous releases, it still reaches the same level of intrigue, thanks to Welch's willingness to write Of course, she has gone from singing about running desperately for her life to sing about her text messages being ignored, but the latter ultimately makes her experience more relatable and humanizing.