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'Lungs' - Florence + the Machine, July 2009, Island Records
It’s rare that I stumble upon an artist, album or song that really grabs me by the hair and forces my face into awesomeness, but thanks to Pandora.com, I recently happened to hear “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” by Florence + the Machine on my Tori Amos Radio station. I enjoyed the song so I added F+tM to the station and heard some other really nice songs.
And then “Howl” came on and I sat for three and a half minutes at my desk at work doing nothing but listening intently. This song is single-handedly the best song I’ve ever heard about creepy, obsessive passion. With lyrics like “I drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart” and “The fabric of your flesh / pure as a wedding dress / until I wrap myself inside your arms I cannot rest,” a driving drum beat, a singer with a hauntingly beautiful voice and a tempo that builds from sultry to frenetic, this song will rock your world if you are into artists like Regina Spektor, Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Lykke Li and Fiona Apple.
Florence Welch doing what she does best
Obviously “Howl” is my hands-down favorite from the album, but “Lungs” is chock-full of great songs that range from demanding to smooth. The theme of the album seems to be passion in its various forms with nods to neurotic love in several songs. Florence Welch, the band’s frontwoman croons in “I’m Not Calling You a Liar” all but begging her lover not to treat her badly, claiming that “I love you so much I’m gonna let you kill me.” Talk about unhealthy love, but somehow it’s beautiful when she sings it. Continuing the obsession theme, “Drumming Song” describes an uncontrollable desire for another person that seems to be unrequited and unavoidable. The song evokes the delicious-repulsive way we feel when we want someone so badly.
The album debuted in the U.K. in July and has yet to make it to the U.S. shores, but mark my words: This band will arrive across the pond soon enough and you’ll already know about it. The first single, “Kiss with a Fist” is a cute song, but hardly showcases the album’s tone and genius. Mistakes will probably be made about which singles to release when the album arrives — I’m looking at you Ting Tings — but buy it now and explore it yourself. You won’t regret it if you like powerful female singers and ethereal sounds over a purposeful beat with lyrics that will not leave you alone. “Lungs” fills you with an obsession for it that mirrors the obsession its songs encapsulate.
