Spring Break
Florence & the Machine's 'Lungs' is a breath of fresh air
by Brad Stern
Assistant Advertising Editor
Arts | 11/3/09
Posted online at 2:16 AM EST on 11/3/09
"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 can't carry it with you if you want to survive."
July 6 marked the official U.K. release of Lungs, the aptly titled debut of a fresh, exciting new troupe 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.
Three months after its initial debut overseas-after having already hit the No. 2 spot on the U.K. Album Charts and nabbing a nomination at the prestigious Mercury Awards, Lungs entered onto American shores on Oct. 20.
Florence Welch is a voice to be reckoned with, represented within both 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 such as Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane.
Luckily 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 U.K. musician Steve Mackey, responsible for tracks off of albums by M.I.A. and Marianne Faithfull.
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.
July 6 marked the official U.K. release of Lungs, the aptly titled debut of a fresh, exciting new troupe 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.
Three months after its initial debut overseas-after having already hit the No. 2 spot on the U.K. Album Charts and nabbing a nomination at the prestigious Mercury Awards, Lungs entered onto American shores on Oct. 20.
Florence Welch is a voice to be reckoned with, represented within both 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 such as Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane.
Luckily 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 U.K. musician Steve Mackey, responsible for tracks off of albums by M.I.A. and Marianne Faithfull.
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.
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