Barry Nicolson of the '' NME '' noted that " 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 . " '' Rolling Stone '' writer Jody Rosen commented that the album contains " turbulent ballads , powered by booming drums and vocal chorales rising like distant thunder , full of Welch 's banshee wails . The music touches on Celtic melodies , bluesy rock stomps , nods to goth and gospel . " '' The Daily Telegraph '' s Neil McCormick viewed '' Ceremonials '' as " a giant , fluid , emotionally resonant album " and stated , " Contrary to the name she has given her band , the Machine feel organic and human , providing an epic , full-blooded soundtrack to Welch 's voodoo , in which rhythm , melody and chanting are employed to drive out neuroses and insecurities , characterised as ghosts and devils . " Rob Harvilla of '' Spin '' described Welch as " a bloodied , bloodying songbird in a gilded cage of immaculately crafted , slow-burn , chest-beating empowerment anthems , gripping steel bars that her elegantly volcanic voice could shred at any moment " , adding , " She 's so much better than her material that her material is rendered immaterial . " Michael Hann of '' The Guardian '' concluded that the album " always sounds wonderful — producer Paul Epworth has created a warm , soft , four-poster featherbed of sound for Welch to emote over — but it never really satisfies . One yearns for Welch 's wonderful voice to be delivering lines of more import than the nonsense she 's often delivering here . " In a mixed review , '' Slant Magazine '' s Matthew Cole wrote that " t he first four tracks of '' Ceremonials '' are essentially flawless " , but felt that the album " ca n't help but get weaker as it continues , a fact which owes less to the quality of the songwriting than to the album 's length ... and a far less dynamic second act . " Andy Gill of '' The Independent '' expressed , " I n cementing one style , some of the possibilities offered by '' Lungs '' have been choked off . The only time Welch and The Machine stray from the formula is the Krautrock-disco motorik of ' Spectrum ' ; elsewhere , declamatory piano chords and burring organ underpin the banked , soaring vocals that are her trademark " . '' Pitchfork '' s Ryan Dombal argued , " Instead of '' Lungs ' '' largely charming yet discombobulating diversity , '' Ceremonials '' suffers from a repetitiveness that 's akin to looking at a skyline filled with 100-story behemoths lined-up one after the other , blocking out everything but their own size . " '' Ceremonials '' was named the best album of 2011 by '' Q '' magazine . '' Time '' magazine ranked it as the second best album of 2011 , stating , " Despite her penchant for emotive gloom , Welch 's tales of heartache can be oddly uplifting ; when she sings about darkness and demons , we know she will ultimately conquer them . " '' Entertainment Weekly '' , on its list of the 10 Best Albums of 2011 , listed the album at number five and wrote , " A big believer in Red Sea-parting melodrama , she 's got the orchestral grandeur to pull it off . Of course , it helps that she attacks the harp as if she were wielding an ax . " '' Billboard '' placed it at number eight on its list of the 10 Best Albums of 2011 , noting that " Shake It Out " and " What the Water Gave Me " " possess an anthemic quality , but they 're far from the only epic moments on the rock-tinged record , which finds Welch channeling avant-pop luminaries like Annie Lennox and Kate Bush . " '' Slant Magazine '' included '' Ceremonials '' at number 22 on its list of The 25 Best Albums of 2011 , commenting that the album is " steeped in melodrama , with pump organs , choirs , and strings expertly deployed as pure pomp on already rousing singles like ' Shake It Out ' and ' No Light , No Light . ' But Welch is perfectly capable of doing delicate too , as evidenced by the gorgeously textured lead single ' What the Water Gave Me ' and ' Never Let Me Go , ' while tracks like " Lover to Lover " are reminiscent of the Eurythmics at their most soulful . " '' PopMatters '' ranked the album at number 25 on its list of The 75 Best Albums of 2011 , calling it " an expansive album , haunted by tragedy but boldly offering a comforting embrace in reply . " '' The A.V. Club '' named it the 26th best album of 2011 and claimed , " A perfect blend of majestic and morose , '' Ceremonials '' establishes Welch as one of the most boundary-pushing divas in the business . " '' Rolling Stone '' ranked the album at number 27 on its list of the 50 Best Albums of 2011 , adding , " From ' Shake It Out ' to the arena-scale Motown of ' Lover to Lover , ' Big Red brings it again and again , choirs and string players backing a voice that soars so high , it makes them seem like ants on the ground below . " '' Clash '' , on its list of The Top 40 Albums of 2011 , included '' Ceremonials '' at number 28 and opined that the album " heralded the triumphant return of one of Britain 's most exciting pop stars . Bettering the sound she first developed on '' Lungs '' , the only problem she faces now is deciding which of its massive songs to release as singles . " The '' NME '' placed the album at number 31 on its list of the 50 Best Albums of 2011 , writing that the album " amounted to pop in its purest sense , as something grand and strange and with ambitions higher than mere humanity , as the triple-headed priestess-muse Florence depicted on its sleeve suggested . " The album earned the band nominations for British Female Solo Artist and MasterCard British Album of the Year at the 2012 Brit Awards . The following year at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards , '' Ceremonials '' received a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album , and " Shake It Out " was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
2012 Brit Awards
2012 Brit Awards
Ceremonials