CD of The Week

Florence Welch has a lot riding on her Machine's sophomore album, Ceremonials. After her Mercury Prize nominated debut Lungs earned her a miraculous mainstream ubiquity--everything from movie trailer placements to Grammy nominations--everyone's eyes and ears are on her. Mainstreamers are waiting to see if she's worth all the attention she's getting and her original indie fans are doubtless waiting to see if that same attention will hobble her creatively. I'm happy to report that those on both sides waiting for a misstep will be left wanting. This skillful, soulful follow-up not only respects the work that came before it but surpasses it.

Retaining Paul Epworth of Bloc Party and Friendly Fires fame on production, Welch's latest effort is simultaneously more cerebral and more confident. Even with added sonic flourishes like cathedral organs, violins and spectral choirs, the spotlight remains on her barnstorming vocals, which turn every song on the record into a potential stadium anthem. While this might make the album exhausting to listen to in one sitting, the individual songs are nothing short of exhilarating. First single "Shake It Out," for example, is a perfect tone setter. Embracing the drama that Flossy seemed to be trying to escape in her breakthrough hit "Dog Days Are Over," it seems to elevate her to a larger venue with each chorus cycle, beginning patiently with humming organs before thundering percussion, commanding keys and a synthesized army of Florences each escalate the song into instantly indelible territory. Other highlights find her playing with her formula a little more with subtly transcendent results: "What the Water Gave Me" is a danceable dirge worthy ofTo Bring You My Love-era PJ Harvey. "Breaking Down" is a bubbly Brit-pop beaut nestled somewhere between Suede's "So Young" and Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Dear Prudence" cover, while "No Light, No Light" infuses her Kate Bush-y "Cosmic Love" template with a deliciously dirty dubstep breakdown.

Again, the album may prove as much of a workout for the listener as it does for the singer, and the tracklisting is a tad top-heavy (the stake can't help but drop a bit after "No Light" shuts it down). Nevertheless, Ceremonials is the rare second album that pays forward the success of its predecessor and then some. Florence knows exactly what she's doing with her fame and her craft, and she continues to do it better than anyone else in her sphere these days. She's virtually unstoppable a this point. One more record like this, and she'll be immortal.