How Big How Blue How Beautiful (2 Lp's) | Mint (M) Mint (M)

BRAND NEW

Label: Republic Records – B0023116-01
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: Jun 2, 2023
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Alternative Rock

Tracklist
A1 Ship To Wreck 3:54
A2 What Kind Of Man 3:36
B1 How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful 5:34
B2 Queen Of Peace 5:07
B3 Various Storms & Saints 4:09
C1 Delilah 4:53
C2 Long & Lost 3:15
C3 Caught 4:24
D1 Third Eye 4:20
D2 St. Jude 3:45
D3 Mother 5:52

Licensed To – Republic Records
Distributed By – Universal Music Distribution
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Island Records
Copyright © – Island Records
Engineered At – The Pool, London
Mixed At – The Mix Suite
Mixed At – Toast Studios, London
Pressed By – United Record Pressing
Mastered At – Sterling Sound
Lacquer Cut At – Sterling Sound
Art Direction, Typography – Brian Roettinger
Co-producer – John Hill (14) (tracks: A2)
Creative Director – Tabitha Denholm
Engineer – Robin Baynton (tracks: A1 to C2, D1, D2)
Engineer [Additional] – Dan Cox (tracks: B2), Iain Berryman (tracks: A2), Joe Kearns (tracks: A2)
Engineer [Assistant] – Iain Berryman (tracks: A1, B1 to D2), Jonathan Sagis (tracks: A1 to D2)
Lacquer Cut By – RJ*
Mastered By – Ted Jensen
Mixed By – Craig Silvey (tracks: B1 to C3, D2, D3), Mark 'Spike' Stent* (tracks: A1, A2, D1)
Mixed By [Assistant] – Eduardo de la Paz (tracks: B1 to C3, D2, D3), Geoff Swan (tracks: A1, A2, D1)
Photography By [Cover] – Tom Beard (2)
Photography By [Inserts] – Vincent Haycock
Producer – Kid Harpoon (tracks: A1), Markus Dravs (tracks: A1 to D2), Paul Epworth (tracks: D3)
Vocals – Florence Welch
2023 Repress (matrix/runout varies from original release)
Barcode (String): 602547244956
Barcode (Printed Text): 6 02547 24495 6

The much-anticipated third studio long-player from Florence Welch and her mechanically inclined companions, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful arrives after a period of recalibration for the spirited English songtress. Arriving three-and-a-half years after 2011's well-received Ceremonials, the 11-track set, the first Florence + the Machine album to be produced by Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire, Coldplay), eschews some of the bombast and water- and death-fixated metaphors of Lungs and Ceremonials in favor of a more restrained sonic scope and an honest reckoning with the dark follies of your late twenties. This change is most notable on the workmanlike opener "Ship to Wreck," a shimmering, open road-ready folk-rock rumination on the ambiguity/inevitability of post-fame self-destruction that, unlike prior first cuts like "Dog Days Are Over" and "Only If for a Night," feels firmly rooted in the now. The bluesy (and ballsy) "What a Man," the propulsive and purposeful "Delilah," and the gorgeous title track impress the most. Instead of building to a fevered crescendo, as is the Flo-Machine way, the latter cut, a transcendent, slow-burning, chamber pop gem, dissolves into a simple and elegant, yet still goose-bump-inducing round of horns, and is breathtaking without knocking the wind out of you. ~ James Christopher Monger

• Media Condition: Mint (M)
• Sleeve Condition: Mint (M)
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: ALTERNATIVE
• RSD Date: n/a
• Format Type: 2xLP
• Released: 6/02/2015