Album: Lungs
Artist: Florence + the Machine
Label: Island
Release date: 3 July 2009
Peak chart positions/sales: (AUS) #3, 2x Platinum (US) #14, Gold (UK) #1, 4x Platinum (IRE) #2, 4x Platinum
Rating: 3/5 stars
The curiously inhuman reference in the title of British band Florence + the Machine is as incongruent with the band's rawly emotive music as the album is aptly named - Florence Welch's soaring vocals certainly draw one's attention to her...er...lungs. Lungs is F+M's debut album and since its release in mid-2009 has held top positions on music charts worldwide, attracting a 2010 BRIT Award and Grammy nomination for Best Artist as their popularity swells. Essentially fitting into the modern indie pop genre, Lungs takes mainstream pop and adds a clever and tasteful array of influences that combine to make a music that is too indie to be mainstream, too rock to be indie and too soulful to be rock, resulting in a refreshingly individual sound.
It doesn't take long to realise that the key to the band's success lies largely with lead singer Florence Welch. Only 15 seconds in we run headlong into Welch's sensual, velvet-toned voice that bursts with an underlying strength and is liable to explode into full-blown hollers at any moment. Her vocal style shapes the music in many senses, providing breathtaking climaxes that rise powerfully over full arrangements of bassy drums, handclaps, piano chords and sparkling harp accents. Capable of sultry softs and howling fortes, Welch's fearless vocal acrobatics and the explosive, visceral emotion she manages to capture in her deliveries are without a doubt the defining feature of the band's sound.
The album bursts into life with the ironic anthem 'Dog Days Are Over' which, after threatening to explode at any second from a gently throbbing pulse and Welch's tense vocal, erupts into a dazzlingly textured arrangement as Welch lets loose with what it probably the most stunning display of her vocal abilities on the whole album. Similarly, 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)' doesn't disappoint with another exhilaratingly punchy rhythm and fist-pumping chorus. The dance-inspired 'Howl' mixes up the musical material with a sudden cacophony of synthesisers in the chorus - though it toes the line of mainstream club fodder - and the goosebump-inducing 'Cosmic Love' is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
The subject material of Lungs is based heavily on issues of mortality and humanity that are often of a dark or violent nature and Welch's lyrics carry off the raw, often disconcerting material with the poignant artiness of Regina Spektor and a heartfelt sincerity. "I'm not calling you a thief /Just don't steal from me /I'm not calling you a ghost /just stop haunting me" Welch pleads in 'I'm Not Calling You A Liar'. Not content, however, to simply sing about her own confrontations, Welch draws the listener uncomfortably close in 'My Boy Builds Coffins', throwing out the line "One of these days he'll make one for you" and repeating it ad lib in a cheekily unsettling manner.
Rating: 3/5 stars
The curiously inhuman reference in the title of British band Florence + the Machine is as incongruent with the band's rawly emotive music as the album is aptly named - Florence Welch's soaring vocals certainly draw one's attention to her...er...lungs. Lungs is F+M's debut album and since its release in mid-2009 has held top positions on music charts worldwide, attracting a 2010 BRIT Award and Grammy nomination for Best Artist as their popularity swells. Essentially fitting into the modern indie pop genre, Lungs takes mainstream pop and adds a clever and tasteful array of influences that combine to make a music that is too indie to be mainstream, too rock to be indie and too soulful to be rock, resulting in a refreshingly individual sound.
It doesn't take long to realise that the key to the band's success lies largely with lead singer Florence Welch. Only 15 seconds in we run headlong into Welch's sensual, velvet-toned voice that bursts with an underlying strength and is liable to explode into full-blown hollers at any moment. Her vocal style shapes the music in many senses, providing breathtaking climaxes that rise powerfully over full arrangements of bassy drums, handclaps, piano chords and sparkling harp accents. Capable of sultry softs and howling fortes, Welch's fearless vocal acrobatics and the explosive, visceral emotion she manages to capture in her deliveries are without a doubt the defining feature of the band's sound.
The album bursts into life with the ironic anthem 'Dog Days Are Over' which, after threatening to explode at any second from a gently throbbing pulse and Welch's tense vocal, erupts into a dazzlingly textured arrangement as Welch lets loose with what it probably the most stunning display of her vocal abilities on the whole album. Similarly, 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)' doesn't disappoint with another exhilaratingly punchy rhythm and fist-pumping chorus. The dance-inspired 'Howl' mixes up the musical material with a sudden cacophony of synthesisers in the chorus - though it toes the line of mainstream club fodder - and the goosebump-inducing 'Cosmic Love' is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
The subject material of Lungs is based heavily on issues of mortality and humanity that are often of a dark or violent nature and Welch's lyrics carry off the raw, often disconcerting material with the poignant artiness of Regina Spektor and a heartfelt sincerity. "I'm not calling you a thief /Just don't steal from me /I'm not calling you a ghost /just stop haunting me" Welch pleads in 'I'm Not Calling You A Liar'. Not content, however, to simply sing about her own confrontations, Welch draws the listener uncomfortably close in 'My Boy Builds Coffins', throwing out the line "One of these days he'll make one for you" and repeating it ad lib in a cheekily unsettling manner.
So yes, daringly individual, surprisingly innovative ('Dog Days Are Over' was apparently recorded using one Yamaha keyboard and various kitchen-based percussion), refreshingly uninhibited...then why did I get so. damn. bored. with the whole thing?! I really enjoyed the originality of the first six tracks or so, but eventually I felt as though Lungs simply states 'This is our sound...like it?' 11 times. While the Blondie-esque punk rock 'Kiss With A Fist' and seductively sordid 'Girl With One Eye' provide some respite from what gradually becomes a predictable unfolding of tracks, their companions become unremarkable after the first half of the album and although F+M spice it up with a couple of new tricks along the way, the material becomes sadly overused and tired by the album's close. Given the hype surrounding the band, I was surprised and disappointed - I kind of expected them to be a bit more...you know...interesting?
Granted, it's a tricky niche that F+M are trying to fill - a sort-of hybrid pop/indie genre that has the potential to be explosively brilliant and highly marketable, but which doesn't yet seem sure of which side it stands on, resulting in an often unconvincing or just unremarkable fusion. Many of the songs (my personal gripe being the opening track) run for one chorus too many, while lacking the musical interest that encourages the listener to stay put until the end of the track. Which would work if they were indie...but they're not quite. Lungs is a promising debut that showcases a formidable amount of talent that I hope will come into its own, given the chance to develop, mature and fully explore the sound they are creating. I will be on the lookout for F+M's future works, but for now they have not left me entirely convinced.
Is it worth my $$$? - I'm inclined to answer this question with a wrinkled nose, tilted head and that whiny, uncertain "Yeeeeeeeeees" that actually means "Not really". There are some amazing standout tracks, certainly, but I'd rather pay $5 for a couple of favourites than an extra $15 for a same-same album flow.
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