Lungs

The brand new bright voice in the indie music

The band known as Florence And The Machine at first sight seems to be a typical English indie collective, which represents a singer – a young woman in this case – along with a company of musicians, who accompany her. If you want to know, which is unusual about this group, you should listen to at least one song by it and you are sure to remember the voice of Florence Welch forever, moreover, you are not going to mix it with somebody else’s vocals. Although the performer is only twenty to years old, she has an astonishing vocal range and her strong, daring singing sometimes reminds of the things and Bjork creates on her records. Florence started singing at early age, and her parents acknowledged her talent from the beginning. She even soloed in her personal band at school. In spite of the fact and a standard school found the girl dyslexic and dyspraxic, the future artist felt freely in a private school, where she loved reading. Later, she even entered a college, but gave up in a year and a half to pursue her singing career. Florence gathered a command of colleagues and called it The Machine. Several of the band members play in other indie collectives too. They began from giving life concerts. Florence And The Machine met the moment of glory by accident, when the lead singer saw Mairead Nash, one half of the duet Queens Of Noise, in a night club. Nash was so impressed by the performance that Florence gave her in the toilet of that night club that willingly decided to became the manager of Florence And The Machine. Thus, this summer, the unusual band recorded its debut disc Lungs.

The gothic stories by Florence Welch

Although the style of the album Lungs can be best described as the indie-pop with the folk elements, we should state at once that the work is rather eclectic and features the dark romantics of the texts, written by Florence Welch herself. For example, the dark track My Boy Builds Coffins is a metaphoric dedication to the artist’s former boyfriend. The blues-influenced number Kiss With A Fist, which at first seems to be a story of the family violence, is actually Florence’s narration of a couple with rather fiery relations. The indie pop single Dog Days Are Over can be freely called one of the strongest places on the record – it starts with the delicate harp play and consequently grows into the symbiosis of drums, handclaps and piano along with the howling and outgageous vocalizations by the singer. The tune Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) in a strange and mesmerizing way combines the harp play and the electro-pop sounding, which turns into a great gospel-like chorus. The sincere and radio-friendly indie pop composition I'm Not Calling You A Liar radiates with the open-heartedness, while the sour with loss and parting melody Hurricane Drunk is a monologue of a girl, who is going to get deadly drunk after a break up with a lover. The track Drumming Song should be mentioned in this review at least for its perfect percussion, while the beautiful tune Cosmic Love is memorable piece of poetry on the eternal topic – the blindness of love. It is also noticeable for impressing vocals and pulsating drums.

The album Lungs did not fail the expectations

The band Florence And The Machine began performing in 2007, and it is well-known to the United Kingdom public. The artists also were noticed at such big musical events as the Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds festivals. Thus, the listeners naturally expected something highly original and impressing on the debut disc. Well, it is obvious that Florence Welch and her colleagues hit the point and did not fail the expectations of the audience. After the release, the disc Lungs took the second line in the British chart, giving way only to Michael Jackson, which is a good recommendation by itself. All the album songs are written by the musicians themselves, so Lungs can be called a truly indie release – the artists are really interested in the things they make and prefer to achieve their goals independently. As the first disc by Florence And The Machine can be freely called the pop release, its core was obviously made of such typical pop song topics as love perturbations. However, the language of Florence Welch is so metaphorical and rich for unusual expressions that even the evident clichés sound fresh and original. May be reason partly hides in the voice of the artist, which is worth any compliments. The vocals of the leader of Florence And The Machine is not only easily remembered – it is also abnormally strong. Well, the disc does not bare the comparison to the life performances of the collective, but it is sure to bring much joy into the life of its listeners.