FLORENCE + THE MACHINE - Lungs
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE - Lungs
Written by Luke Oram   
Friday, 21 August 2009 11:33
Florence + The Machine Florence Welch was blessed with a head start.
As an infant, Welch had trouble sleeping so her parents would lull her to slumber by pushing her in a stroller and playing The Smiths, The Soft Machine and R.E.M.

Years later, this kind of eclectic breeding ground would give birth to the utterly exciting and organic sound of FLORENCE + THE MACHINE.

The inspired indie debut ‘Lungs’ is the injection of good medicine that music has been waiting for – driven by Welch’s strident soulful storytelling voice, the album is a collision of the ethereal and the organic – a Narnia closet of harps, toy pianos, handclaps and ghostly choir-girls spinning tales of heartbroken fairy tale heroines.

It’s more than just a record for Kate Bush aficionados though. Weaved together in a strange but sure manner by Welch’s stunning vocals; ‘Lungs’ traverses the indie princesses casual flirts with art-rock (‘Rabbit Heart’), punk grit (‘Kiss With A Fist’) and gospel fervour (‘Drumming Sound’). The result is a kaleidoscope view of art-inspired imagination and stories of grown-up heartbreak – as if Dorothy had put her soul shoes on the good foot and put some punch in the Wizard of Oz.

‘Cosmic Love’ is a soaring bittersweet Dear John aftermath (“No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight, In the shadow of your heart”) punctuated by earthy drums and an unearthly choir of dark angels. ‘Dog Days Are Over’ is a skipping and twisted sleeping beauty tale (‘Happiness hit her like a bullet in the head. Struck from a great height by someone who should know better than that’), while ‘Howl’ builds to a tribal dance-driven climax, Welch howling at the moon (“If you could only see the beast you've made of me”).

It’s no wonder the music press is so besotted with ‘Lungs’ – Florence and the Machine is all soul and tainted love, channelled by an eclectic and boundlessly inspired indie heroine.
 

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