Florence Welch has seen remarkable success in the past few years as a member of her band, Florence + the Machine. The red-headed singer has had hits with “You’ve Got the Love”, “Spectrum (Say My Name)” and “Dog Days Are Over” since the groups’ début in 2009 and after a hiatus and a three-and-a-half year break since Ceremonials, we are on the eve of the release of the group’s third record; How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. In an interview with Zane Lowe – the former Radio 1 DJ – Welch was quoted as saying that Marcus Dravs (Big, Blue, Beautiful‘s producer) had banned her from writing songs about water as this was a recurring theme in such songs as “What the Water Gave Me”. However, “Ship to Wreck” came to fruition.
The song is upbeat and is set to open the group’s new album. It features everything that has made the Machine famous: Florence’s sweeping, soaring vocals; memorable lyrics and a the band’s take on standard instrumentation. The instrumentation for the track focusses on an acoustic chord progression that is surrounded by intriguing tuned percussion and a hefty bass-line that sticks to the same tempo throughout. The dynamic shifts emanate from Florence’s aforementioned vocal which begins as a bird ready to take flight until it soars above mountains when she begins the simplistic, but remarkably poppy chorus. Lyrically, “Ship to Wreck” serves as a metaphor for setting one’s self up to fail and this serves as a fitting thought as Welch makes reference to a “killer whale” and “great white shark” alongside her references to how “the water’s coming in fast” as the situation seems bleak.
Whatever your take on “Ship to Wreck”, there’s no denying that How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is set to be a financial success. If Lungs and Ceremonials are anything to go by, we’re looking at another Machine UK Number One album, once Welch’s ankle heals we’ll be in for some ensconcing live shows and the album also sounds as though it will be worth listening to.
