Florence & The Machine
Ceremonials
(Island)
***
"The girl has seen the world and the world has seen the girl" notes the press release for Ceremonials, and the rise of south Londoner Florence Welch has been spectacular indeed.
Music: The National listens
Music reviews, festivals and all things sound related
[ Music ]
The wan-skinned, pop-gothic stylings of her UK Chart-topping debut Lungs ensured a snug fit when she sang Heavy in Your Arms for the soundtrack of 2010 vampire film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, while, earlier this year, Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World list ranked Welch at number 51. Naturally, such high-powered props have ensured there is a lot riding upon the release of the singer's second album, Ceremonials.
Welch's record company reportedly suggested she write the follow-up to Lungs in Los Angeles with a crack team of US creatives, but she declined, opting to reconvene with trusted producer Paul Epworth instead. The resulting record is a dense, lengthy affair. The harmonium intro to Shake It Out works well, and the capable, gung-ho singer billed by Lungs remains, but Ceremonials is a little light on nagging hooks, and only five tracks in, with Breaking Down, do we arrive at a song packing something of the immediacy of Welch's previous hit You've Got the Love. Spectrum - a floor-filler that briefly drops to icy, Clannad-like harp - is a huge hit-in-waiting, but parts of Ceremonials disappoint, with bombast no substitute for inspiration's elusive spark.
Follow us on Twitter and keep up to date with the latest in arts and lifestyle news at twitter.com/LifeNationalUAE
UAE PREMIERSHIP
Final: Dubai Hurricanes v Jebel Ali Dragons
Saturday, 8.15pm, Al Ain Amblers
Semi-final results
Dubai Exiles 20-26 Dubai Hurricanes
Dubai Tigers 32-43 Jebel Ali Dragons
Table
1 Dubai Tigers, 33 points
2 Dubai Exiles, 24 points
3 Dubai Hurricanes, 18 points
4 Jebel Ali Dragons, 14 points
5 Abu Dhabi Harlequins, 14 points
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
UAE squad
Men's draw: Victor Scvortov and Khalifa Al Hosani, (both 73 kilograms), Sergiu Toma and Mihail Marchitan (90kg), Ivan Remarenco (100kg), Ahmed Al Naqbi (60kg), Musabah Al Shamsi and Ahmed Al Hosani (66kg)
Women’s draw: Maitha Al Neyadi (57kg)
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz S 450
Price, base / as tested Dh525,000 / Dh559,000
Engine: 3.0L V6 biturbo
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 369hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm at 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.0L / 100km
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000