#1. Florence + The Machine - Sky Full Of Song
I suppose there are a few absolutes in life - death, taxes, and Florence + The Machine making the Jester One Top 20 Countdown. The inaugural edition had "Kiss With A Fist" being on the honor roll, 2012 saw "Shake It Out" and "What The Water Gave Me" doubling at 12, and "Ship To Wreck" landed at #20 in 2015. Florence + Co are known for their massive sound, blending orchestral soundscapes, Isabella Summers' talent behind a keyboard and of course Florence Welch's enormous voice. Along the way, their 4 albums have hit #1 in a combined 8 countries and have been certified several times platinum. I could go on and on talking about the accolades that the band has been given and the awards they've won, but this is 2018, so let's talk about their current body of work.
High As Hope is a different kind of beast for Florence. You won't find the colossal firepower of songs like "Shake It Off" and "Dog Days Are Over" anywhere there. Instead, the work is stripped down and dialed back - many of the songs seem to feature just Florence, a keyboard and a flutter of sounds. It is a deep and emotional record, reaching deeper inside of Welch's heart and soul to pull out the pain of the last few years for herself. The second single "Hunger" features one of the darker lines that I've ever heard from the group - "At seventeen, I started to starve myself, I thought that love was a kind of emptiness, and at least I understood then the hunger I felt, and I didn't have to call it loneliness". It is uttered almost candidly, as if Welch herself is better than what she has written and knows that music is her way to work through these things and persevere. Other standout tracks include "Grace", "South London Forever", and "100 Years". It only reached #2 in most of the charts it usually tops (UK, US, Australia, NZ), but if you really want to understand love, you ought to give this record a spin.
The day that "Sky Full Of Song" was released was a day that inevitably changed 2018 for me. The song popped up on my Spotify "Release Radar" channel and I excitedly put it in my queue for the morning. The moment it came on I had to stop playing the game I was entertaining myself with. The second you hear Welch wail "How deeply are you sleeping, or are you still awake", you know you're onto something amazing. The first 20 seconds of the song are just Welch before she is joined by a soft bass and the twinkle of a harp. There isn't a whole lot to the song musically - it's simply Florence against the world. She sounds as amazing as ever as she sings about the difficuly of performing and how music takes her to another place. There wasn't some bubbling up process for me; it was an immediate dawning. I listened to the song over and over again, just trying to grasp every emotion Welch was throwing at me. I actually had to pull myself away from the song for a few days, just to come back and re-imagine what I was feeling all over again. Even without the usual exploding orchestral, it's a humongous song for the band. The song cracked out 25m streams on Spotify and its video has another 12m views while showing an anguished Florence sitting on the floor, singing in black and white in an empty room surrounded by small flowers.
This is the first time a returning band reached #1. I am fairly sure that Florence + The Machine will be back whenever they decide to release another record as well. "Pain" and "Sky Full Of Song" were back and forth throughout most of the summer but the English juggernaut was not to be denied. Two years in a row we have a female led alternative rock act with a softer, heart-stirring #1. What a great time to be around. Thank you again everyone for turning in :-)
Favorite line: "I thought I was flying, but maybe I'm dying tonight."
Title: Sky Full Of Song
Artist: Florence + The Machine
Album: High As Hope.
Previous #1s
2017: Morning Theft - Skeleton Twins
2016: DMA's - Lay Down
2015: Purity Ring - Heartsigh
2014: Cadets - A Drop In The Ocean
2013: Surfer Blood - Demon Dance
2012: Fun. - Some Nights
2011: Young The Giant - My Body
2010: Hockey - Song Away
2009: Morrissey - I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
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