Florence + the Machine
cast a most effective spell on their excellent sixth album,
Everybody Scream
. Informed by harrowing health scares and the ups and downs of her life as an artist,
Florence Welch
sets aside the choreomania of her previous effort and opts for the more effective primal outbursts as a form of powerful healing, processing her personal trauma and presenting it for listeners to relate to. It was a great choice, as
is one of the group's deepest, most personal, and emotionally impactful releases. Firstly, the intensity of the title track cannot be understated: this song can raise the dead and shake the heavens; it's a towering showcase that is so rousingly cathartic it justifies the existence of the entire record. Luckily, everything else here is just as strong. The otherworldly "Witch Dance" rides a thumping bassline, mystical harp trills, and breathless, ululating backing vocals from the so-called Deep Throat Choir, who, along with the masterful woodwind section, are the secret weapons on the album, offering equal parts excitement and heft to these otherwise direct Baroque pop gems. While the effusive "Sympathy Magic" sparkles and uplifts, the showstopping "You Can Have It All" builds to a shiver-inducing moment of revelation and "The Old Religion" swells atop dramatic orchestral backing and a trombone call-to-arms. Those highlights aside, the biting, unflinching "One of the Greats" and "Music by Men" take direct aim at unfair gender double standards and male mediocrity (in both life and in the industry), saying aloud what so many have thought. While nothing can compete with catalog classics
Lungs
or
Ceremonials
,
does come close, channeling the same energy and offering similar delights and thrills for the first time in a while. ~ Neil Z. Yeung