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Florence and the Machine
Lungs
Island
out July 6th
81/100
[Rating Scale]
[rating:81/100]
“Happiness hit her like a train on a track, coming towards her stuck still no turning back,” Florence Welch whispers above the lulling ukulele of “Dog Days Are Over,” the opening track off of her first full-length release. And before anyone can say much of anything, the ropes have been let loose, the horses are in full gait, and Welch’s wild shouts and yelps lead the raging pack’s charge until there’s no turning back: “Leave all your loving, your loving behind / You cant carry it with you if you want to survive.”
July 6 marks the official UK release of Lungs, the aptly-titled debut of a fresh, exciting troupe from England known as Florence & The Machine, fronted by a witchy chanteuse that coos much sweeter and cries out much louder than the vast landscape of dull, auto-tuned drones currently on the scene.
Florence Welch is a voice to be reckoned with; the she-beast of “Howl” and the lion-hearted girl of “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up).” She tears through octaves and rips into full-throated shouts without ever drawing a breath. She is of her own brand stylistically, although armed with a quirky quivering reminiscent of Kate Bush, the bounding howl of Björk, and perhaps most glaringly, the uncompromising female rock-chic edge of legends including Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane.
Lucky for us, the triple-punch production behind this album proves to be rooted in equally diverse sounds: There’s James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco, Paul Epworth of Sam Sparro and Kate Nash fame, and UK musician Steve Mackey, responsible for tracks off of M.I.A. and Marianne Faithfull’s albums.
It’s surprising then that a cast and crew of such diverse sounds could produce an album like Lungs. After all–and let’s prepare for the possible punny outcome here–Lungs is fluid. It’s an incredibly cohesive production as a whole, sounding like one long session recorded from the dingy confines of a medieval dungeon.
If there’s anything that comes to mind in thinking about this album, it’s texture. Each track is carefully constructed from top to bottom with pounding instruments, layered vocals, and fiery spirit and emotion. It is, as Florence might say, a beast.
While the singles have all been good, the album tracks are arguably even better. “Howl,” bursts forth with the kind of animalistic energy you’d expect from a song titled as such, while “Girl With One Eye” merges a confident guitar swagger with vindictive lyricism; a combination so murderous it ought to have Quentin Tarantino giddily jumping up and down like a schoolboy before shoving it into the soundtrack of his next gore-fest.
But “Girl With One Eye” isn’t the only song dripping blood from the speakers. In fact, basically every track does: “Kiss With A Fist” morphs the act of domestic abuse into a balls-to-the-wall garage rock ode, “My Boy Builds Coffins” reeks of ill-willed premonitions, and “I’m Not Calling You A Liar” sees an ex-flame in the form of a scorned ghostly apparition. Even the album’s soaring ballad “Cosmic Love” revels in a kind of Tim Burton-esque embrace of romantic macabre: “A falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes / I screamed aloud, as it tore through them, and now it’s left me blind.”
In a recent post discussing the story behind each track off the album, Walsh had this to say regarding “Dog Days Are Over”: A lot of people have said they think it’s about the Apocalypse. Or freedom. And someone said it was about the recession. But to me it just signifies being free, in that I’d made music in a way I’d never made it before.
Swamped in a sea of press releases from labels boldly proclaiming their artists to be the next Depeche Mode-meets-Madonna-meets-Queen (and always end up sounding like Cascada in one way or another), it’s beyond refreshing to hear an artist who couldn’t be further from being considered an imitation act. Florence & The Machine’s Lungs is honest music making, real music made through creative innovation for the new age.
Bottom Line: cadaverous, magical, and anything but predictable. The pop album to beat in 2009, and an artist to watch for years to come. Florence & The Machine is the future of pop music. Are you prepared?
Because Lungs hasn’t been released in the US yet, we have a couple of options. 1) US readers can enter to win Florence and the Machine’s A Lot of Love, A Lot of Blood 12″ EP or 2) US Readers can enter to win “Kiss With A Fist” and “Dog Days Are Over” both on a 7″ record (two separate singles).
To enter leave a comment with your thoughts on the tracks you’ve just sampled, Florence and the Machines, or (if you’ve listened to it) the album. Make sure you leave your name/email address in the provided fields! Entries will be accepted until July 26th
Bradley Stern is a contributor here at Pretty Much Amazing. Be sure to check out his blog MuuMuse for his daily musings on pop music.
Tags: Bjork, Favorite New Albums, Florence and the Machine, Kate Bush, M.I.A, Simian Mobile Disco
I was really excited about Florence and the machine when I first heard her covers of cold war kids and beirut. Now that I’ve heard the album I’m still blown away by her amazing voice. Dog days are over is amazing. Truly.
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What an amazing voice. Interesting and complex music. Another great review.
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This is a wonderful song – one of the best posted here in a while
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its just a lovely album
in world where im usualy surrounded by electro, indie, or hiphop bangers this album really helps you take stock of your life. its definitly 8.5/10.
i saw them at oxegen festivial in ireland last week and they blew me away. such a big sound, such a lovely voice.
this is truly magic music!
cosmic love is absoulelty out of this world too.
you should check out their cover of Mystery Jets “Flakes”. Its def on repeat on my iTunes
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Oops, sorry about that.
MP3 streams work now.
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Wow! Kate, Souxsie, Grace…I hear all the best in this voice. The music is catchy and stirring. Good job, going to buy the CD.
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I’ve been listening to this for about a week now and I love it. It’s very fluid and cohesive, as you say. It’s also fresh and catchy, using varied instruments to create a fun or emotional sound. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but Howl is haunting & powerful. Very very good album.
this album is amazing. the other tracks almost outshine kiss with a fist in my opinion, although its an amazing song as well!
I KNOW FLORENCE…..and it’s Welch by the way not WALSH! I actually went to school with her bro for ages, and I met her loads of times…….YAY FOR ME…..and her, I saw her at Glastonbury (biggest UK festival) and she was mind-blowing, fantastic live!
Rabbit Heart is fo sho best song ….
If she’s ever in the US go and see her, I saw her at T in The Park the other day, a bit skeptical about her live performances. She blew me away, she transformed the already small tent into a small intimate room, the stage presence she musters from a harp, drums and guitar are astounding. I think she needs to co-ordinate that voice of hers to create an even more complex and emotional album, by limiting and expand it in certain places. The Bonus tracks on the extended album are well worthwhile. “Falling” has that bare but confident feel of the album. Her songwriting is that of a art student, fully entwined in magnified emotion. An absolute blast to listen to, can’t wait for a more mature albums from her in the future. Damn, this sounds formal, F+M FTW!!!
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love “dog days are over” ever since i heard it a couple months ago.
Wow. This album is great. I’m glad you reviewed this because I don’t know that I would have heard of this otherwise.
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I love Florence and the Machine. My friend from Germany told me about her about a year ago. I still remember her sending me the link to the video for Kiss With A Fist. I instantly loved the song. While I love all the songs on the album, Kiss With A First is still my favorite, but Dog Days Are Over is a very close second. She kind of reminds me of a less cutesy version of Kate Nash, whom I also love. Florence has such an amazing voice too. I wish I could sing like her. I remember once reading NME and Tom Clarke (lead singer of the NME) said he thought she was the sexiest women alive. I really want to see her live. Hopefully one day she’ll tour the U.S.
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this album is amazing! it’s definitely one of the best of 2009…and it’s been on repeat on my ipod since it dropped!
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Propelling her way up my ‘favourite artists’ list… This album is exquisite. It’s haunting, emotional, powerful, and for sure the best the year’s had to offer so far.
I think I might be falling in love… shit.
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i am in looove with her. i can listen her music all day on repeat. every song makes me want to move!
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Lungs is fantastic. Heard most of the songs before as demos, but her voice is so powerful.
Betting on her for the Polaris prize.