Florence + the Machine’s ‘Ceremonials’ Shoots to No. 1 on the U.K. Charts

Universal Republic

Florence + the Machine have scored their second No. 1 album on the U.K. Charts with their just-released sophomore LP, ‘Ceremonials.’

The Florence Welch-fronted outfit sold 90,000 copies of the album in its first week, knocking Coldplay, and their latest release ‘Mylo Xyloto,’ off their throne down to the No. 2 spot. The achievement follows the impressive peak of the indie group’s 2009 debut, ‘Lungs,’ which hit the top of the charts in January 2010, thanks to their smash single ‘Dog Days Are Over.’

Florence + the Machine have released three songs from ‘Ceremonials,’ including ‘What the Water Gave Me,’ ‘Shake It Out’ and ‘No Light, No Light.’ Welch has said the tracks on the record have been inspired by everything from the death of Virginia Woolf to the effects of a hangover.

“Literally, a song can be about seven different things,” she explained. “I do think of songs almost as collages of different images, and so the references will just come from all over the place, and I don’t really know how they’ll all fit together until the song is finished.”

‘Ceremonials’ was released in the U.S. on Nov. 1. Florence + the Machine’s first-week sales in The States will be released on Wednesday, Nov. 9.