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Florence & The Machine
Ryan Adams
After the success of ‘Lungs’, one can only hope that Flo’s new album lives up to the high standard she has set herself. Fear not, everything is fine.
To appreciate Ashes & Fire , one must understand where Adams is coming from. A large reason for his retirement in 2009 was his due in part to his struggles with Ménière’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear that wrecks havoc on ones hearing and balance.
Ceremonials
First teaser track ‘What The Water Gave Me’ showed that the bite was still there, but with an added early Stones blues direction. Single ‘Shake It Out’ is glorious. Following on from the pre-release single and fitting in with the back catalogue to date, you can see progession. ‘Only If For A Night’ is a slowed down, midtempo track complete with multi-layered synths and a story about a girl from school. She sings “It was strange and so surreal that a ghost should be so practical” - Good to see the quirky Flo of old is still deep in her soul. In a bizarre twist, ‘Spectrum’ has a bizarre essence of Destiny’s Child and obscure 90’s dance band Olive as a possible influence. To sum up, it sounds like Florence has improved her machine and geared it up for the American market. No doubt this will be a massive hit at home too, but should help cement her legacy in the wider world just like Adele.
7/10
Ashes & Fire
The album’s opening track, Dirty Rain, is a down home yet subdued southern rocker at heart. You can feel the humidity from the Allman Bros. inspired organ playing that creeps up later in the track while Adams strong vocal effort crashes down upon the listener like lightning from the sky. nown for his prolific songwriting skills, Adams has always flown under the radar as a guitar player. Building from a simple acoustic riff and lyrics ripe with self-reflection, Do I Wait features a brief yet triumphant electric guitar solo that would fit perfectly on any of the material recorded by his on again/off again backing band The Cardinals. It’s clear he is making the record more for himself then for his diverse fan base. For that reason alone, it is perfect.
9/10
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