Florence Welch came onto the British indie alternative scene in mid 2007, where she performed cover songs from her favorite artists and bands at many English summer festivals; Welch’s performances were so encapsulating and her voice so powerful she could keep the crowd stirring. Welch accomplished all of this before she even came out with her first record, which debuted in 2009 titled Lungs.  Now back with her sophomore record Ceremonial, Florence Welch is enchanting her fans with another great record worthy of awards.

The British import has received a fairly large fan base in the U.S. from her first album getting radio play with the song “Dog Days are Over”, which gave the American audience a better look on how immense Florence + the Machine is, and what an impact her music has on people.  For those of you who haven’t heard any songs from Ceremonials just yet, there is no need to worry if her sound has changed; it is as big and orchestral as the last. Ceremonials is an extension of Lungs and uses a lot of the same instruments such as the harp but for this record in songs like “What the Water Gave Me” and “Heartlines”, there is a profound drumming in the background that isn’t from your average drum kit set but Chinese drums, rather.  She also opted  for a bit of change in her voice, a beautifully haunting  and ghost-like vocals that echoes throughout the album such as in the songs “Lover to Lover” and “Shake It Out”.

For this album, Welch draws inspiration from her love of religious iconography and uses a bigger choir sound mixed with soul. In the first single of the album “Shake it Out” she tells a story of being free and letting the demons be cast out of you, she sings in a high spirited manner professing how good it feels to be free.  Although this album is still very much the Florence + the Machine sound, Welch strayed away from her raw roots with a more overproduced sound, hiding all the flaws that made Lungs such an inspiring album.

Florence is an amazing artist and any music she creates always has an impact on people. Not only is her music remarkable, but Florence Welch herself is a great role model. Ceremonials is an album worth buying and listening to over and over again. Her music distinguishes her from all other artists in this day.