Aural Pleasure, The Eleventh Day of Xmas

On the eleventh day of Xmas my AP gave to me ... eleven things the water gave me. Also eleven heartlines ... and eleven devils. Or was that seven devils? Eh who cares, they rhyme, and multiple devils are involved. Let's see who we have today, if anything they have the best damn opening picture on the list, wouldn't you say? Read on to see who it is, yay.

Ceremonials - Florence + the Machine

I suppose this one is no surprise, seems like all the hip people are listening to this one. So maybe this is a cop out, but I don't care (Also, I've already listed Death Cab and Radiohead on this list, so why not?). What's most important is I've been blasting this album nonstop since I saw it on spotify's "what's new" page late this last year. Ceremonials, I suppose, would be a collection of typical folk/singer-songwriter/soul songs if it weren't for the brilliant architecture behind each song. Not to mention Florence Welch's epic vocal parts that lead the way. Each track on this album is a wonderfully complex composition of strings and drums and great vocals and ... well it's just awesome.

Are you starting to see a pattern in my musical preferences? I love folky stuff, but honestly these days it's hard for me to get into anything that doesn't bring something new, or at least cool, to the table. That could be anything from catchy songs, super honest lyrics, a great voice, or going crazy in the studio. Florence + the Machine has the wonderful vocals and clever lyrics down, and for Ceremonials we also get the whole going crazy in the studio thing I love so much. I say for Ceremonials here because I haven't listened to Lungs so I don't actually know. I've been orbiting around Florence + the Machine for a while now and only just recently took the plunge.

And that is what's surprised me most here actually, is how long it took me to finally pull the trigger on Florence, since she ticks off a whole lot of things from the List of Things You Should Do To Make Zach Love Your Music. Which is totally a real thing. Let's see, woman with an awesome voice - check, great lyrics - check, really interesting musical compositions - check, not playing it safe - check, lots of badass musical buildups that have a satisfying climax - totally check. I could keep going, but why don't you just listen for yourself, if you haven't already, which I'm sure you have. Here's some of my favorite tracks, "What the Water Gave Me," "No Light, No Light," "Seven Devils," and "Leave My Body." God it was hard to only pick four songs, which is yet another solid reason to get in on Florence + the Machine, if you haven't already, which I'm sure you have.