Those looking for the raw catharsis of ‘For Emma…’ will need to cop their misery fix elsewhere – ‘Bon Iver’ is the sound of a man making peace with the world, saxophones and all.
Nine Types…’ will make those who over-contextualise TVOTR finally quit their chin-stroking and live a little. This really is the most fun you can have without laughing.
The main problem with ‘†’ was the album’s awkward flip-flopping between mega club bangers and noticeable filler. ‘Audio, Video, Disco’’s success is in its album-wide consistency, and a contemplative depth of sound that outshines the expectations of their disco-biscuit crowd.
By taking what worked about Lungs and amplifying those qualities to a natural, satisfying conclusion, Florence has made a near-great pop record that should afford her the creative freedom to do whatever the hell she wants next time around.
Because there’s an awkward squirm at Girls’ core, a deviant devolution of classic mores, and that makes ‘…Holy Ghost’ something of a maladroit masterpiece.
A record to respect for its craft, rather than worship for its greatness. Listen to it enough times and you may convince yourself you love it. But let’s not kid ourselves that it’s up there with their best work. It just isn’t.
It’s this combination of unforced sonic gorgeousness and a refusal to settle for the obvious that puts Clark in a field of her own, and makes for a strange and wonderful record that shows no mercy in blowing your mind.
The overall impression is of gloomy landscape paintings with a spooky, residual feeling that God might be hiding behind every cloud or passing tumbleweed — electrifying.
‘Smother’ is deeply sad and lonely, but still a barbed invitation to intimacy; like Coleridge’s albatross, an extraordinarily elegant, stunning, (near)-perfect portrait of how terribly bad decisions can turn out.
If all you can see is a tangle of influences then you’re standing too close to the picture, and when ‘Skying’’s visions come into focus, it not only reaffirms that ‘Primary Colours’ was far from a fluke, but that they could go so much further.
‘The English Riviera’ is a deep sea of ideas and imagination: a far-flung, limitless dreamworld full of romance, nostalgia, lovers’ tiffs and good old-fashioned shagging.
‘Let England Shake’ is a record that ventures deep into the heart of darkness of war itself and its resonance throughout England’s past, present and future.