TWO years after the Jamaica Observer reported that British rock band Florence and the Machine were recording songs at the Gee Jam studio in Portland, two tracks from that session have made their latest album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. The songs are Delilah and Which Witch. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is the group’s third number one album in the United Kingdom.

It topped that country’s national chart last weekend with first-week sales of 70,000 copies. It is distributed there by Universal/Island Records. The album was released on June 2 in the United States by Republic Records. Florence and the Machine’s previous albums were 2009’s Lungs, which has sold over three million copies worldwide, and 2011’s Ceremonials, which sold 800,000 copies in the US and 300,000 in the UK.

They are known for hits such as Spectrum (Say My Name), Kiss With a Fist, Dog Days are Over, Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up), Shake it Out and Drumming Song. Florence and The Machine were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album for Ceremonials and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Shake it Out at the 2013 Grammy Awards.

– Kevin Jackson