Florence & The Machine - Lungs (Island)
3/5
By: Tom Hocknell
Camberwell-based Florence and the Machine arrive on a cloud of bohemia with the kind of hype associated with scientific breakthroughs, or end-of-year Clearance Sales, or indeed 2009 female electro solo artists (no names need be mentioned). However, she wears the pressure well, with a charming calm more associated with unflappable A&E staff. She is quick to laugh and run with happy tangents, and most importantly it is more recently written songs, such as the defiant 'Hurricane Drunk', which more than hold their own alongside the (comparatively) older material.
The album emanates an easy confidence, as though already prepared for perfectly defensible comparisons to Bats For Lashes and Kate Bush, with songs similarly influenced by fairytales and the whimsical. The anthemic 'Howl' could even be an outtake from Hounds of Love, which is obviously a compliment.
For someone so young, she already wears the world heavily on her shoulders, and if 'Kiss with a Fist' is an indication, it would be wise not to get into a glam-rock influenced fight with her, or you'll wake up with your bed on fire. The album doesn't entirely escape art student pretension, but holds it together through tight structuring and most importantly a playful love of music, as evidenced by the cover of Candi Staton's 'You've Got The Love'. However, unlike the Klaxons, she doesn't need a rave cover to define her career, as her own material is impressive enough.
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