| Lungs |  | Artist: Florence + The Machine
Label: Island Records Group
Category: Music
List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £6.48
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Rating:  reviews
Format: Enhanced
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Running Time: 46 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.7 x 0.4
MPN: 001317002
UPC: 602517979406
EAN: 0602517979406
Release Date: July 6, 2009
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Dog Days Are Over | | • | Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) | | • | I'm Not Calling You A Liar | | • | Howl | | • | Kiss With A Fist | | • | Girl With One Eye | | • | Drumming Song | | • | Between Two Lungs | | • | Cosmic Love | | • | My Boy Builds Coffins | | • | Hurricane | | • | Blinding | | • | You've Got The Love |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Already the year’s most hyped new artist--not only first in the BBC’s famously unreliable poll of new talent and recipient of a special Brit award devised just for her--Florence Welsh has a lot to live up to, and thankfully the artfully titled and sleeved Lungs justifies the investment. The singles are undeniably the standouts. The impressive "Dog Days Are Over", neurotic and fierce, and the slightly more reserved follow-up "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" lead her debut collection, sometimes overshadowing her other material. Yet the extremes of "Kiss With A Fist", a jokey celebration of mutual domestic violence and noisy guitars that shamelessly steals its melody from the White Stripes’ charming "We Are Gonna Be Friends", and the showstopping, almost unashamedly stagy "Girl With One Eye" show off both her development and an already instantly recognisable voice. The gallows humour of songs like "Between Two Lungs", the daft "My Boy Builds Coffins" and the ferocious "Hurricane Drunk" where she threatens "I’m gonna drink myself to death" backed by a spirited choir of Florences, save her from accusations of self-absorption. The concluding, and hugely loud "Blinding" is all Kate Bush tics over bruising drum patterns. So a straightforward and affectionate cover of the classic Candi Staton and Source club banger "You’ve Got The Love", previously only available online, comes as a welcome chance to get one’s breath back. Much better than an apparent plan to position her as some kind of missing link between PJ Harvey and Avril Lavigne suggested, Lungs is a clever, catchy set, yet unresolved enough to sustain curiosity.--Steve Jelbert
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| Customer Reviews:
 Album of the year and one of a rare few albums of the decade December 28, 2009
streetspiritlondon (London)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Me and female singers have never really gotten along. I much prefer to listen to the sounds of Thom Yorke or Brandon Flowers or (dare I say) Bono. Whilst my mates fawn over Bjork or Tori Amos or Britney they kind of leave me cold. Then along comes Florence and the Machine. In a year which has been pretty shoddy for decent albums this rises head and shoulders above any other long player. it's so good I could almost imagine Kate Bush discovering this album and sending her minions out to bring this 'florence girl' straight to her. I was fortunate to see her live last month and she's truly a star. When you hear music like this and know that we're still able to discover stars in the world of digital disposal music it makes you sick to your stomach that Simon Cowell is driving the heart and soul out of music. The odd thing is, Florence probably wouldn't have made it past week one of X Factor.
Music at its best December 31, 2009
Julia Havard (Swansea, Wales)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I first saw florence at the pre brit awards so i looked her up and discovered dog days and kiss with a fist from then on in i was on edge waiting for the album and it did not dissapoin reminiscent of kate bush with an indie twist these songs are a sort of gothic fairytale with fantastic lyrics and beautiful music to which it is set if you love eccentric yet brilliant singer song writers flo is the one for you.
So I'm listening to the mainstream again? July 15, 2009
Geoffrey D. Palmer (York, UK)
48 out of 59 found this review helpful
A number of reviewers have started out by mentioning their age and gender. Let me continue that trend: I'm male and getting on for 58. In my time, I've been a Beatles/Rolling Stones, Hendrix, King Crimson, Siouxsie and the Banshees and All About Eve fan - to name just a few bands - and then some time around the millennium I abandoned the "boring" mainstream (sorry, Michael Stipe and 1990s R.E.M.) and started listening mostly to dark continental metal. That too has evolved, but the point I want to make very strongly is that Florence has reconnected me with a small fragment of the mainstream. A small but very significant fragment.
It's significant for a number of reasons. Yes, there's a gothic thread running through the album. Let's call it "gothic" rather than "goth" - I think that's a more accurate view. For a bright and "big" album (apparently, and in reply to another reviewer, Florence is on record as saying that she wants to make her music "big"), many of the lyrics are, of course, quite dark. In fact, "Girl With One Eye" is dreadfully dark - despite which the album has been accepted into the "mainstream" world without question. I can think of a great many doom metal and death metal albums, but none of them are ever likely to make the same journey!
I see this album as a great, crazy achievement in itself, and as a wake-up call to some other artists. OK, so it isn't a competition - it's never been that - but there are plenty of successful artists out there who seem content with "less". One thing I've discovered from my journeys around continental metal is that "more" is an important part of the emotional hook: I think of it in terms of colour and texture. And this album is brimming over with colour and texture.
To those who are disappointed that this Florence isn't quite the same as the live Florence, I'd say that the drama of the live gigs surely couldn't really work in the longer term - not if you're planning to put the CD on repeat. The studio version of "Bird Song" on the bonus CD has a rather different character compared to the YouTube videos, but it works perfectly well for me.
Some reviewers have made comparisons with other singers, past and present. On "My Boy Builds Coffins", I hear something of the style of the late and much-missed John Martyn. Personally, I don't hear much Kate Bush in Florence's approach (stay away from those squeaky high notes please, Florence!), but she herself mentions Grace Slick as one of her influences and, well, perhaps something of that shows through. The key to Grace's way of singing, apparently, was that she was trying to emulate the sound of the electric guitar. That's a kind of madness in itself - and madness of a very special kind is something that Florence promises to deliver much more of in the future.
Unless, that is, she gives up all this wacky stuff and turns into one of the best white soul singers ever ...
Ok now ive got it! July 13, 2009
Rush K. Shukla (Uk)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I posted a pre ordinance of this album and although i anticipated the music my post was not, well, relevant which is why maybe Amazon never published it. But seeing its still hot off the press (released Monday 6th July 2009) i want to be in there with the first reviewers!
I just got a copy and have been playing it for a few days now so i feel i am qualified to review it properly, so here goes:
The first song Dog Days Are Over is a splendid up beat tempo tune about god knows what but it feels good which is what counts. The use of ukelele throughout the record is very affective/affecting as are the hand claps at the start which make this one just go. Can i hear Robert Plant and Zeppelin in there!
Rabbit Heart was the first song i saw them do at a festival i watched on Tv flicking through the channels, bored, one night, which is how i discovered them. It was an acoustic version but her voice was so powerful and original that i couldnt help but be swept away by it. The album version is truly stunning too as it builds into the gift that it is.
I'm Not Calling You A Liar slows things down a bit and is a moody reflective ballad, that evokes the ghost of Jeff Buckley.
Howl starts off with a chilling drum/vocal narrative and Florence comes into her own here with another powerful vocal delivery. Enchanting.
Kiss With A Fist is pure pub rock heaven! Its a quirky and cute little tune with fuzzy guitars and an eccentric vocal. A standout.
Girl With One Eye is the only tune not to have a Florence Welch credit but its another brilliant bit of bluesy cold swagger genius, is that the ghost of Jeff Buckley again??? I love these eccentric touches but there's more to their cannon than just being barking mad!
Drumming Song is my absolute favourite on the album. I dont know why but it just gets me going. I love the way the verses play off a Pink Floyd (Time) like sequence and the song just explodes into a relentless wall of sound that just builds and builds into the best song on the record.
Between Two Lungs is very poetic with some lovely words that suggest the centrepiece of this album. Strong stuff indeed.
Cosmic Love, another standout song and one of my faves is as engaging as it is enchanting. Beautiful use of the ukelele again and harp which are very poingnant to their sound.
My Boy Builds Coffins also has an eccentric edge to it and is a disturbing song that fits in well with their goth pop sound.
Hurricane Drunk, another standout song is an example of excellent songwriting. A very catchy chorus that sweeps you off your feet.
Blinding was a song i heard at that record shop and i thought it was Chrissie Hynde??!! There are so many influences here and this one is quite an epic tune with Eastern and Chinese textures that flow effortlessly.It could also fit smuggly on a Siouxsie album. Another gem.
You've Got The Love is a fitting way to end this great and demented record which is a Zenith in songwriting and sonic tapestry, a melting pot of everything i love about music. And its defies category.
Amazing July 15, 2009
Dylan Harrison (London, England)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This album shows off one of Britain's most promising rising star. Florence's unique voice shows off on each song without any concious effort, and the songs vary enough for you not to get bored. My Boy Builds Coffins is a particular favourite, and the choice of Rabbit Heart as a single is well justified. Having seen her perform many of these tracks live before purchasing the album, I was glad to find that they were just as good on record as they were on stage.
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