How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
| Florence and the Machine
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is the third studio album by the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. It was released on 29 May 2015 by Island Records. After returning from her year-long hiatus from music, frontwoman Florence Welch returned to configure How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, recording material that dealt with personal conflicts and struggles. In comparison to their last two efforts, the album is much more refined and stripped-down instrumentally, and incorporates a mixture of musical influences such as folk, blues and gospel.- Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
No matter how tormented these songs get, they let her show off with grand, arching vocal lines
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Rolling Stone
Welch returns with a renewed love for loud guitars and soul vocals
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Spin
Instrumental hooks and rhythmic forcefulness massive enough to fight back against her, challenge her to even greater heights.
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The Gaurdian
This is often still as melodramatic as pop gets
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Billboard
It shows a different kind of mastery by allowing for a different kind of vulnerability,
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Independant
An ethereal, furtive introduction billows into a huge arrangement of crunching rock band beat further inflated by horns.
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Consequence of Sound
Most deserving superstars, maintaining a stunning balance of technical mastery and sensitive lyricism
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Telegraph
Thunderous
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Drowned in Sound
One that carries her predilection for drama with genuine confidence
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Pluggedin
Florence and her bandmates mostly tumble down a rabbit hole of inky, swirling melancholy
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Medium
Overall this is a solid album.
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AXS
Album is a spectacle jam-packed with pictures giving a sense of a story.
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Tuneage
Allowing Florence’s divine voice to pierce through to the listener
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Cryptic Rock
Another milestone
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DIY Magazine
She’s turning everything up a notch, not just the volume.
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The National
Rarely has the art of falling apart sounded so good
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Neon Tommy
Feels so personal, like you unearthed a copy of Welch’s diary.
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NY Daily
Welch's vibrato shakes with such force, it could set off the San Andreas fault.
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Bol
Immersive music, Good singing, Good lyrics
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Queen Mobs
Seems to cut back on her signature operatic, life-and-death urgency and the proclamations of a tormented, electric water deity.
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Flavor Wire
It may be the most intimate of Welch’s three albums — in part because her words no longer have anywhere to hide
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All Things Loud
A truly encapsulating listen from start to finish. Welcome back, Flo.
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Panther Print
There is no ‘only buying parts of the album’ , no favorites, no individual best-sellers. It’s just Florence
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Gigslutz
Soulful and sweet
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Pretty Much Amazing
Detonation comes over time, and with repeated listens.
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Music OMH
It makes for her best album to date, with some of the catchiest hooks and melodies she’s ever conjured up. How brilliant.
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NME
That’s not to say the record doesn’t offer up some super-sized bangers
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EW
Welch may have gone slightly smaller with her sound, but her emotional depth and capacity for wonder remain gigantic.
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We Plug Good Music
At times, the album can feel like indie-by-number
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The Line of Best Fit
Unleashes a modern classic of raw honesty
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Paste Magazine
Resonate in a deeper way by varying the sonic palette and focusing her words inward.
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Zumic
There is a maturity in her songwriting on this album that sets it apart from its predecessors.
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All Music
When it falters, it's akin to a chatty party guest failing to realize that everyone else has gone home.
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Music Insight
DEEP, DARK AND DEFINITELY WORTH A LISTEN.
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Nylon
The heartbreak is rampant, the self-loathing is there, and the music is massive.
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Music Mayhem Magazine
The angel has broken wings within one of the most honest albums in recent memory.
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Chicago Tribune
It's a voice built for drama, and on this album its emotional range has never been wider.
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Boston Globe
Sometimes triumphant, sometimes sad, and always deeply felt thanks to Welch acting as tour guide.
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Empty Lighthouse
The album is highly recommended. Mature, daunting, and emotional.
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The Kids Wear Crowns
The BIG moments are few and far between.
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Under the Radar
Most memorable moments come when the power is dialed down
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Digital Spy
A more rooted production.
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Bearded Gentleman
HOW BEAUTIFUL!
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Viva Scene
A stellar outing from the most dynamic female voice in pop music today.
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The Perth Cactus
It’s still equally as loud and angry as it is dark and sad as it is groovy and upbeat
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McGill Tribune
Welch howling over seemingly dozens of brass instruments.
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The Roar
Was emotional and captured Florence Welch’s journey through her life and relationships well. It was relatable, unique, and relaxing to listen to
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Critic of Music
It's an album filled with rock solid production
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Music Times
A complete work with The Machine shining almost as much as Welch's flawless voice
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Daily Review
Welch’s ability to turn the primal emotions of love and loss into grandiose theatre.
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Pop Matters
Welch proves her dynamic range might become as powerful as her vocal delivery.
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WPGU
Welch’s voice and this time more simple writing style to create a fundamentally classic pop piece of art.
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Tampa Bay Times
This one's big and beautiful.
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Nouse
Welch still has plenty to offer.
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Rock on Philly
A reflective, awe-inspiring, and observant tone
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A Bit of Pop Music
Well done for taking risks and delivering a more than exciting record.
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The Young Folks
It’s a beautiful piece of art, masterfully laced together through a watery concept
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Vulture
Loses its power supply about halfway through and moves through a snoozy middle section
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Mind Equals Blown
Managed to find pure individuality within Florence
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Sound Blab
A good album filled with good songs
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The 405
This is an impressive record that seems to be ushering in a new, exciting era for Florence and the Machine.
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Spectrum Culture
Without question their best to date.
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Bass Player
A bolder sound à la ’70s Fleetwood Mac.
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Flood Magazine
She helps others understand that pain is temporary and, ultimately, only makes you stronger.
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Golden Plec
Florence have a gift for meaningful lyrics and beautiful melodies, she also has at her core a very pure and honest artistic temperament
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Musikexpress
Divine bombastic pop
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XS Noize
The latest manifestation in a great line of English Pop eccentrics.
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Diffuser
Stay true to their epic and orchestral sounds while creating much more approachable music
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List
An unsubtle fan pleaser following tried-and-tested formulas
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Est 1997
Florence’s voice and presence are otherworldly elements, a ‘place where emotion chaotically reigns.’ In this album, all that chaos reign beautifully.
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Financial Times
After the crack-up comes recovery, epitomised by this fine album.
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Renowned for Sound
A true gem of an album, and the strongest yet from Florence + the Machine.
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Belwood Music
It’s not a perfect album but it’s the best album of Florence’s career thus far.
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Press Play
The record does work as a cohesive whole.
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Source Magazine
I just couldn’t see any big hits coming out of this album
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The Wireless
She is still a queen, a summoner of saints and a presence to be reckoned with.
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We Were Promised So Much
From Welch’s faultless voice, to The Machine’s expansive, magnificent sound and even the record’s simplistic artwork provokes the theme
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Evening Standard
When the tunes match the scale, as on Third Eye, she does it better than anyone.
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Artefact
Its rawness and charm will capture you, if you let it.
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Earbuddy
A sharp, streamlined yet equally enjoyable record
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Too Many Blogs
More Florence and less of the machine. In fact I like it. Stick with it, love.
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Wizard Radio
Florence is essentially musical marmite, if marmite had a voice that should legitimately be on the Richter scale and a taste for melodrama.
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Thomas Bleach
Massive hooks, unforgettable harmonies and a collection of intimate and matured tracks
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The Amarantha Entertainment
We can forgive all the drama though,because it makes for a brilliant album.
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Las Vegas Weekly
Her tight sense of rhythm and melody—somehow keeps it all grounded.
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Ranting about Music
Their brightest album yet
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Spectrum Pulse
I'm feeling a 6/10 and only a recommendation if you're a hardcore Florence + The Machine fan.
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Buffablog
It’s a formula that’s wonderfully powerful and effective. And if the machine ain’t broke, well, why fix it?
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Clash Music
She could step out of that comfort zone more often.
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SA Music Scene
Compelling and tragically moving listen.
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Brehm Center
Something reverential about this collection of songs.
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AU Review
Has been perfecting over the course of three albums and it's only getting better with each release.
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The Current
It's a beautifully crafted, emotional album with a full-on 70s Stevie Nicks vibe
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CS Independent
Welch is still the queen of pop riffs delivered with a strong punch.
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Gigsoup Music
Will no doubt go on to affirm Florence Welch as one of the leading lights in this genre.
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Shufflebeat Music
A brilliant contradiction of styles and manners, resolved as only a band like that could.
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Altmusic Box
Stands out like a beacon of light in a darkening sky.
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Contactmusic
Equal parts Big, Blue, and Beautiful. She's lost none of her appeal
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Sift Thru
Florence's voice is perfect for huge, progressive rock songs
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Hit the Floor
Another exceptional record ready just in time for festival season.
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The Waster
The vibrating passion that comes across in each track
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Timeout
This is an overwhelmingly accomplished record that deserves your time.
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No Rip Cord
The greater the risk, the greater the reward. And I can think of no better reward than this album.
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Irish Times
A brisk display of regained confidence and strength.
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