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High as Hope

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High as Hope
Studio album by
Florence and the Machine
Released29 June 2018 (2018-06-29)
Recorded2017–2018
Studio
Genre
Length39:57
Label
Producer
Florence and the Machine chronology
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
(2015) 		High as Hope
(2018) 		Dance Fever
(2022)
Singles from High as Hope
  1. "Sky Full of Song"
    Released: 12 April 2018
  2. "Hunger"
    Released: 3 May 2018
  3. "Patricia"
    Released: 10 August 2018

High as Hope is the fourth studio album by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. It was released on 29 June 2018, by Republic[4] and Virgin EMI Records.[5] It was preceded by the singles "Sky Full of Song" and "Hunger". "Patricia" was released as the third and final single on 10 August 2018.[6][7]

The album was executively produced by Florence Welch herself, along with Emile Haynie. Following How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015), High as Hope features more minimalist, stripped-down productions and explores themes of heartache, loss, family, and finding comfort in loneliness. The album received positive reviews upon release, with music critics lauding Welch's vocal delivery and personal lyricism.

Background and recording

[edit]

On 18 April 2017, Nathan Willett, the frontman of Cold War Kids hinted in an interview, that the band's fourth album is in the works by expressing that he had collaborated with Welch.[8] The news was confirmed by Welch herself on 27 May 2017, in an interview for The Daily Telegraph.[9] On 28 February 2018, the band's drummer, Christopher Hayden announced via Instagram that he had parted ways with the band.[10] In March 2018, the Dutch Record Store Day website revealed that a new single by the band would be released on 12 April 2018, titled "Sky Full of Song".[11] The listing was later removed.[11] The single was released on 12 April 2018. The song is accompanied by a video, which was directed by AG Rojas. On 6 April 2018, the BBC announced that the band would headline the BBC Music Biggest Weekend on 26 May 2018, where the band is expected to debut new work.[12] The band was set to perform worldwide as well, with shows scheduled throughout 2018.

Talking about the title and the themes explored on the album in an interview with Universal Music, Florence Welch said: "There is loneliness in this record, and there's issues, and pain, and things that I struggled with, but the overriding feeling is that I have hope about them, and that's what kinda brought me to this title; I was gonna call it The End of Love, which I actually saw as a positive thing cause it was the end of a needy kind of love, it was the end of a love that comes from a place of lack, it's about a love that's bigger and broader, that takes so much explaining. It could sound a bit negative but I didn't really think of it that way."[13] Welch is a credited producer for the first time in her discography, as she decided to take charge in making the music, with six months alone spent on demos.[14]

Welch's lyrics deal with wanting and love, with her describing “Big God” as “obviously, an unfillable hole in the soul, but mainly about someone not replying to my text.” Intimate subjects are discussed, such as "Hunger" referencing an eating disorder in the singer's teenage years,[14] and "The End of Love" addressing her grandmother's suicide, a topic she has previously explored on the Ceremonials track "Only If for a Night".[15] Welch also created "Patricia" in dedication to her idol Patti Smith.[14]

The album title is taken from a poem Welch wrote after wandering through New York City with a friend: “Heady with pagan worship/of water towers/fire escapes, ever reaching/high as hope.”[14]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[16]
Metacritic75/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
The A.V. ClubB[19]
The Daily Telegraph[20]
The Guardian[21]
The Independent[22]
NME[23]
Pitchfork5.7/10[24]
Q[25]
Rolling Stone[26]
The Times[27]

High as Hope received positive reviews from music critics upon release, with critics praising Welch's vocals, her themes, and the minimalist production. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[17] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick gave the album a perfect score, stating that "Welch's singing throughout is extraordinary, shifting gears effortlessly from melancholic softness to high-powered exultation, even ululation. Every gasp, growl and fluttery trill seems perfectly placed."[20] Roisin O'Connor of The Independent awarded the record a rating of four stars out of five, praising several songs, saying "'Grace' is a moving love letter to her younger sister which asks for forgiveness for her past, chaotic behaviour" and "stirring violins open 'The End of Love' like a sinister eulogy; Welch's voice comes in with gorgeously textured harmonies, unfolding elegantly as she details a finished relationship with bittersweet recollections."[22]

AllMusic critic Neil Z. Yeung wrote, "Straightforward and relatably human, High as Hope may not be the rousing version of Welch from previous albums, but as a document of her personal growth, it's an endearing and heartfelt study of truth and self-reflection."[18] Sputnikmusic gave the album a perfect score, writing, "The easiest and most likely path to continued success for Welch and company would have been to attempt to re-create the spellbinding magic of Ceremonials or the anthemic qualities of Lungs. High as Hope is neither, and that makes it hands down the most forward-thinking album of Florence and the Machine's care."[1]

In a less enthusiastic review, NME gave High as Hope a rating of three stars out of five and called the album "safe", stating "Stripped to the bare bones of her soul and the sentiment, her truth shines – and there's a beauty in that. The only thing holding it back is a lack of risk, but there's still so much comfort in the familiar."[23] Similarly, Slant Magazine reviewer Josh Goller also gave the album three stars out of five, and said "Welch widens the song's ['Hunger''s] scope from a specific personal battle with an eating disorder to a broader emphasis on universal craving for love and acceptance, but trite statements about the destructive nature of fame and drugs are emblematic of the album's overall tendency to retreat into sweeping, generalized sentiments. Welch strikes a more effective balance between the personal and the universal on 'Big God'."[28]

Commercial performance

[edit]

High as Hope debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, selling 40,304 copies in its first week.[29] In the United States, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 84,000 album-equivalent units, including 74,000 pure album sales, becoming Florence and the Machine's third US top 10 album.[30] The album was kept out of the top spot in both countries by Drake's Scorpion.[29] High as Hope has sold 80,700 in the UK as of September 19, 2018.[31]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."June"Florence Welch
3:41
2."Hunger"
  • Haynie
  • Welch
3:34
3."South London Forever"
  • Welch
  • Shaw
  • Haynie
  • Welch
  • Shaw[a]
4:22
4."Big God"
  • Haynie
  • Welch
  • Shaw[b]
4:01
5."Sky Full of Song"
  • Welch
  • Haynie
  • Bartlett
  • Haynie
  • Welch
  • Bartlett[b]
3:46
6."Grace"
  • Haynie
  • Welch
  • Shaw[b]
4:48
7."Patricia"
  • Welch
  • Haynie
  • Bartlett
  • Haynie
  • Welch
  • Shaw[b]
3:37
8."100 Years"Welch
  • Haynie
  • Welch
  • Shaw[b]
4:58
9."The End of Love"
  • Welch
  • Jesso
  • Haynie
  • Welch
  • Jesso[a]
4:41
10."No Choir"
  • Haynie
  • Welch
2:29
Total length:39:57
High as Hope – Picture Disc box set (bonus disc)[32]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Hunger" (acoustic)
  • Welch
  • Jesso Jr.
  • Haynie
  • Bartlett
3:34
12."South London Forever" (acoustic)
  • Welch
  • Shaw
4:30
13."Patricia" (acoustic)
  • Welch
  • Haynie
  • Bartlett
4:25

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer.
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer.
  • "Big God" contains sampled elements from "Azure Blue" by Simon Benson and Peter Cox.

Personnel

[edit]

Charts

[edit]

Certifications and sales

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Poland (ZPAV)[67] Gold 10,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[68] Gold 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Except tracks 5 and 10
  2. ^ Additional recording on tracks 2 and 9
  3. ^ Additional recording on tracks 2 and 5
  4. ^ Additional recording on tracks 2, 4 and 5
  5. ^ Additional recording on tracks 3, 4 and 8
  6. ^ Additional recording on track 7
  7. ^ Orchestra

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Staff (2 July 2018). "Florence and the Machine - High as Hope". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 3 July 2018. Heading into this album, it would have been easy to assume that we'd be in line for ten straightforward, acoustically driven indie-pop songs
  2. ^ Blue, Jeannie (29 June 2018). "June 29, 2018 Florence + the Machine – High as Hope (Album Review)". Cryptic Rock.
  3. ^ Ludovic Hunter-Tilney (29 June 2018). "Florence and the Machine: High As Hope — 'change in emphasis'". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 August 2018. a stirring orchestral-rock anthem anchored by the...
  4. ^ Ginsberg, Gab (3 May 2018). "Florence + the Machine Debuts 'Hunger,' Announces 'High As Hope' Album". Billboard. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Florence + The Machine announces new album 'High As Hope' with single 'Hunger'". DIY. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  6. ^ "BBC Radio 1 playlist". Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  7. ^ Mac, Annie (4 July 2018). "Florence Welch's new single is an ode to one of her favourite artists: Patti Smith". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Interview: A Chat with Nathan Willet from Cold War Kids". 18 April 2017. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  9. ^ McCormick, Neil (27 May 2017). "Florence Welch on alcohol, new music and her search for serenity". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  10. ^ Hayden, Christopher Lloyd (28 February 2018). "Christopher Hayden @thekidhayden · Instagram photos and videos". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Florence + The Machine are releasing a new single for Record Store Day". NME. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  12. ^ "BBC - Florence + the Machine, Shawn Mendes and Demi Lovato to perform at BBC Music's The Biggest Weekend as the incredible line-up gets even bigger - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk.
  13. ^ Gabriel Leontine (20 June 2018). "Florence + The Machine: "High As Hope" (Interview)" – via YouTube.
  14. ^ a b c d "'I Never Thought I Would Talk About It.' So Florence Welch Put It in a Song". The New York Times. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  15. ^ "'Hope' and change from Florence + the Machine - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
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  17. ^ a b "High As Hope by Florence + the Machine Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
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