Florence & the Machine: High As Hope [VIRGIN/EMI]

Why you'll love it

This edition comes with a full-colour inner sleeve and a 12-page lyric and credit booklet. High As Hope debuted at No. 2 in both the UK and the US, and The Daily Telegraph gave it a perfect score.

This edition

• Printed inner sleeve
• 12-page lyric and credit booklet

About the album

Florence Welch made her name with songs the size of cathedrals. On High As Hope she turned the volume down and the honesty up. She took the producer's chair for the first time, alongside Emile Haynie, and spent six months on the demos before anyone else got near them.

"Hunger" turns an old private struggle into a song about everyone's longing for love, "South London Forever" drifts back to her teenage years, and "Grace" is a heartfelt letter to her younger sister. "Patricia" is her tribute to Patti Smith, "Sky Full of Song" soars, and "The End of Love" opens on stirring violins. The title comes from a poem she wrote while wandering New York, admiring the water towers and fire escapes. Cold War Kids' Nathan Willett was among those who helped shape the songs, and the album's stripped-down production lets every word land.

Critics praised the vocals and the candour. Welch has said "Big God" is partly about someone not replying to her text, which may be the most relatable thing ever set to a choir.

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Tracklist

Listen

On Virgin EMI / Republic (cat# B0028549-01), the 2018 album.