Florence Welch has had the misfortune of being bundled in with a crop of female musicians, none of which she has anything in common with. While the synth heavy sounds of La Roux and Little Boots have become the zeitgeist, Florence is a completely separate entity.
Lungs is a staggeringly ambitious and rewarding debut. Enchanting harps, bewitching melodies combine with her staggering vocals. The opening half of the album nearly suffers from spectral ballads but is then broken up welcomely by the bare bones garage rock of ‘Kiss With The Fist’. Which hints that Florence is equally influenced by PJ Harvey as Kate Bush.
With a debut as confident and well executed as this, it’s hard to say what direction Florence and the Machine will take next – the ethereal ‘Drumming Song’ hints at a mystical world we could see more of. Equally ‘Girl With One Eye’ shows Florence could easily release an album of foot stomping Moulin Rouge esque ballads.
If a bad point had to be found then it would be ‘Hurricane Drunk’ – the plucked strings and sound of waves scarily evoke Morcheeba. A description that should never be aimed at any music released after 1996. That small fault aside, Lungs should establish Florence as one of our most enigmatic and tempting prospects. Bet your car on her scooping up the Mercury later this year.
