| "No Light, No Light" | ||||||||
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| Single by Florence + the Machine | ||||||||
| from the album Ceremonials | ||||||||
| Released | 16 January 2012 | |||||||
| Recorded | Abbey Road Studios | |||||||
| Genre | Baroque pop, art rock, indie rock | |||||||
| Length | 4:34 | |||||||
| Label | Island | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Florence Welch, Isabella Summers | |||||||
| Producer | Paul Epworth | |||||||
| Florence + the Machine singles chronology | ||||||||
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"No Light, No Light" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine from their second studio album Ceremonials (2011). The song was written by Florence Welch and Isabella Summers while the production was handled by Paul Epworth. Island Records will release the song as the second single from the album. An accompanying music video premiered on 18 November 2011.
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"No Light, No Light" was written by Florence Welch and Isabella Summers while the production was handled by Paul Epworth.[1][2] The song was recorded in 2011 at the Abbey Road Studios.[2] According to Welch, "No Light, No Light" was the first song written for the album.[3] During an interview with MTV News she confirmed the release of the song.[3] Welch further revealed that the intro of the song was written during the tour in Amsterdam, "We had gone out for Rob [Ackroyd]'s birthday to an all-night restaurant in Brussels called Midnights. We went to this funny restaurant and then got on the tour bus and everyone was a bit drunk and it was like, 'Yeah, let's write a song.'"[3] Welch also said that "No Light, No Light" was also recorded in Amsterdam, "And we recorded the sound of the bus moving, a real drone-y bass sound, and that's the intro, and then the tour bus arrived in Amsterdam [and we were saying], 'Let's go toast this song! We will find a bar that will serve us drinks at 7 in the morning! Come!'.[...] So we trotted off into Amsterdam and managed to find a sports bar that would only serve us Midori. It was bright-green drinks and me and Isa [Summers] kind of looking like crazy old ladies."[3] During an interview with Los Angeles Times, Welch further described the song as "one of the biggest tracks on the album."[4]
The song begins with lyrics talking about fighting with snakes as stated by Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly.[5] Ryan Dombal of the website Pitchfork Media commented that "No Light, No Light" was one of the songs where Welch "sets aside her usual flighty, dreamy, goth-y lyrical go-to's-- ghosts, graveyards, devils, angels, myths, drowning-- for something a bit more personal."[6] During the musical bridge of the song Welch sings the lines "Would you leave me, if I told you what I'd become. 'Cause it's so easy to sing it to a crowd/ But it's so hard, my love/ To say it to you out loud."[6] Alix Buscovic of BBC Online compared the song with Florence and the Machine's earlier song "Cosmic Love".[7]
Ryan Dombal of the website Pitchfork Media praised the song, saying that the lines "double as a snippet of self-criticism."[6] He added: "Perhaps Welch finds it 'so easy' to sing her tunes to thousands because they often lack an individual touch that could send them even further skyward-- the same touch that comes so naturally to fellow UK chart queen Adele."[6] Spin's Rob Harvilla commented that "No Light, No Light" was "a desperate lovers' quarrel, all agitated strings and galloping drums (no broken jaws or burning beds this time, alas)."[8] Clash magazine's Laura Foster called the song "uplifting" and "typically Florence-sounding" further putting it in her list of "six massive anthems" on Ceremonials.[9] Alex Buscovic of the website BBC Online called "No Light, No Light" a "drum-chased, harp-gilded and hook-jawed" song.[7] However, Buscovic commented that its "epic proportions are too much."[7] Randall Roberts of Los Angeles Times called the song an anthem, which according to him, was "as overpowering as 'Dog Days Are Over.'"[4] In his review of Ceremonials, Jillian Mapes of Billboard wrote "'I'd do anything to make you stay / Tell me what you want me to say,' she pleads atop the album's most pulsating tribal drumbeat. Musically, the song exudes utter strength; lyrically, Welch is on her knees."[10]
Time placed the song at number 1 on their list of "Top 10 Songs of 2011". The writer further commented: "In another context, this 'No Light, No Light' could be the sound of a religious revival. Florence Welch's rich voice has never sounded better than on this track; her fervent, even rapturous, lamentations about her partner's lost love resonate like requests for salvation made by a faltering believer with arms raised to the sky. 'Heaven help me, I need to make it right' she wails, but gets no reply. Replete with harps and a tribal drum beat, 'No Light, No Light' operates as a plea for salvation that will soon have you running to your deity of choice."[11]
An accompanying music video for the song was released on Florence and the Machine's official Vevo account on 18 November 2011. It was directed by Icelandic duo Arni & Kinski.[12] A teaser was also uploaded on their Vevo account on 15 November 2011. The video begins with Welch lying next to a human skull. Several scenes showing a masked and shirtless contortionist sitting on a chair follow and soon after he starts to dance and takes his mask off. The video then moves into a church where a choir consisting of kids starts singing the song. Welch is then seen atop of a building as the contortionist takes a voodoo doll in his hands. He puts a needle in the doll and Welch falls from the building. She later falls in the church where she's being caught and held by the choir.[13] Shots of Welch being chased by the contortionist in a town are interspersed amongst the other elements of the video.
Marc Hogan of Spin concluded that the video, "touches on the fine line between spiritual ecstasy and reckless abandon."[14] Jillian Mapes of Billboard commented that the video is exploring a "territory between Christianity and voodoo spirituality."[15] Mapes further praised the video for being dramatic, but he wrote that "more than that, it's completely absurd."[15] A writer of Rolling Stone concluded: "[the video] does not shy away from matching the music's melodramatic intensity. In addition to contrasting overtly Christian iconography with images of some kind of voodoo priest, the harrowing climax is paired with footage of Florence Welch falling from the top of a skyscraper."[16] Writing for Dose, Leah Collins found "seriously life-threatening juju going on in No Light, No Light [video]"[17] Nick Neyland of Prefix Magazine wrote: "That song ["No Light. No Light"] just got a suitably opulent video, which is full or religious imagery, Florence perched atop a building in Manhattan, and a strange masked figure. What does it all mean? We have no idea, but anyone who's afraid of heights may want to look away when Florence starts flinging herself across that rooftop and ultimately takes to the skies and starts flying (seriously)."[18]
Following the online release of the video, several publications and users on various websites commented on the use of racism and racial imagery due to the black face of the voodoo man at the beginning.[12][19][20] Some viewers on YouTube have suggested that the underlying theme of the video is dubious, while others have taken issue with the use of a black face and body paint by one actor in the video.[20] An article entitled "White Supremacy all dressed up in a pop video is still White Supremacy", posted on the website Racialicious.com, has suggested that the video is full of "racist imagery".[12] A writer for the website wrote that the video was guilty of "glorifying the white female central character as representing goodness, all while vilifying the evil dark skinned heathen Other."[12] The writer further stated: "Discussions about whether or not Welch is personally responsible for this racist music video have cropped up. When you break it down and imagine the number of people who were behind the storyboarding, choreographing, casting and creative direction around this video, it is slightly astounding that not one person raised concerns about how problematic this video is."[12] No official statement from Welch or her label regarding these accusations has been released at this time.
The band performed the song live for the first time during the show Later... with Jools Holland on 1 November 2011.[21] Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone praised the performance saying: "Florence Welch is backed by her full band plus a string section, but as overwhelming as the sound gets, her incredible voice remains the focal point of the performance."[22] Later, on 20 November 2011, they performed the song on Saturday Night Live.[23][24][25]
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