"Ship to Wreck" | ||||
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Single by Florence and the Machine | ||||
from the album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful | ||||
Released | 9 April 2015 | |||
Format | Digital download | |||
Recorded | The Pool (London, England) |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 3:54 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Writer(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | ||||
Florence and the Machine singles chronology | ||||
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"Ship to Wreck" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine from their third studio album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015). It was released on 9 April 2015 as the album's second single. The track premiered on Huw Stephens' show on BBC Radio 1 on 8 April 2015 and the accompanying music video was released on 13 April, following the narrative of band's previous two videos of "What Kind of Man" and "St. Jude".
"Ship to Wreck" was met with critical acclaim, with critics praising frontwoman Florence Welch's vocals, as well as the song's production. The song received nominations for Best Rock Video at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.
"Ship to Wreck" is a folk rock,pop rock, and soft rock song that carries an "upbeat, bouncy sound", in contrast to the lyrics, which speak of self-destructive behaviour. The song almost did not make the cut for How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, as producer Markus Dravs had disallowed Welch to write more songs about water, a recurring theme in the band's previous album, Ceremonials (2011), but she managed to include it. In a press release, Welch explained the meaning behind the song, saying: "I was thinking about my own self destructive side, and how you can make something only to tear it down, enjoy/destroy, create/devastate etc. When you're in that whirlwind, you often end up breaking the thing you love the most."