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If the lyrics on Lungs are only half true, Florence Welch has been seriously kicked around by love, and we're talking 'kicked'.... lets say somewhere along the lines of Tina Turner... A tumultuous love life, however isn't the only the thing the twenty one year old Brit shares with Turner, she also packs a voice that can effortlessly soar to supernatural heights. On Lungs her debut release Welch paints the vicious pitfalls of love with a colour palette borrowed from a Tim Burton film, lyrics wandering from murder to carpentry then back to a bit more of the old ultra-violence. Combining blissful top 40 hits, with dirty blues joints and sublime ballads, Welch's Lungs soars over super-hyped UK disappointments of her female predecessors.

As I first listened to the infectious ‘Dog Days’ my brain screamed “who is this woman?” Growing up with amazing female vocalists such as Annie Lennox on the stereo, I was embarrassed that I had no idea about Florence and her glorious Machine.

Since, her debut album, “Lungs” has fast become one of my most treasured. You know you’ve found a great album when you can listen to the entire record and it delivers you every type of song to quench your musical thirst.

From the upbeat dog days, to the folksy kiss with a fist, Florence utilizes every bit of her unique vocal ability. Highpoints are Girl with one Eye and Cosmic Love. Who doesn’t love harps in mainstream music?

She may have even turned ‘you’ve got the love’, the song mainly associated with the last episode of sex and the city into a song for indie lovers?

Hats off to Florence Welch and her amazing band. I’m waiting with itchy fingers for the follow up, and will commence stalking duties when the group touches down in Oz next week. Buy it, and embrace the machine.

Not since Fiona Apple in the late ‘90s has a female singer really won me over. So I go into this listen as a skeptic.

"Dog Days are over" is a strong start to the disc, and I'm immediatly hypnotised by Florence’s voice, not sure what it is in particular but this voice has loads of character. It may be the fact that she is a ranga but for some reason her vocals remind me of Tori Amos, something haunting about them.

From there the album evolves to a quality mix of soulful vocals, cool effects and some outstanding percussion. The highlight is “Girl with one eye”, a haunting narrative with a bridge that blows me away. This is one of my songs of the year.

Other stand outs include “Drumming Song” and “Rabbit Heart (Raise it up)”, while “I’m not calling you a liar” will be an obvious fav for the masses.

There was a sense of dread when I received a copy of this album. Is this just another fleeting female artist? Just yet another "interesting voice"?. I am happy to say that Florence and the Machine pleasantly surprised.

The opening track "Dog Days Are Over" sets the slightly upbeat but moody tone for this album and gets you moving and gyrating on a Friday night. The only diappointment is "Kiss With A Fist", its a little folksy and doesn't have the same polish as the rest of the album. Seems as though it was added as an after thought.

By far "Drumming" and "Hurricane Drunk" are the tracks to watch as they will engage many with the heavy beat and perfection.

It may be that my expectations were low to begin with but I was blown away by the honesty of this album and look forward with bated breath for the live shows and (finges crossed!) and amazing follow up album.

I thought it was only fair that I spent some time actually listening to the whole album and giving it a fair review away from the sparkly underwear, cape fetish and erratic, distracting dance moves.

I have high hopes after listening to the opening track Dog Days Are Over: could this be our new Feist? Could all the glitter just be a thin veil hiding an amazing album? If you close your eyes and pretend it's not Florence, you could be forgiven for thinking this is most definitely the next big thing, not in need for a shiny PR label or Lady Gaga no-pants style makeover.

So by the time I get to the latest single Drumming it's like I'm hearing it for the first time... and it's COOL.

- Conclusion: Buy the album and replace the sleeve with something else so you can forget about the sequin underwear and concentrate on the music.
- Best bit: Kiss With A Fist
- Worst bit: That when I hear that song I cringe at how lame she looked performing it live like she thought she was the new Siouxsie Sioux.

Rarely does an emerging artist get it so right the first time, but it’s safe to say that Florence Welch and her backing band (The Machine) have set a standard so frighteningly high for any succeeding records that the word ‘vertigo’ springs to mind more than once. With this debut effort (winner of the esteemed Critic’s Choice Brit Award) , Welch has made it doubly challenging to dart that fated ‘sophomore slum’ that so many of her peers fall into. But for the moment, there is Lungs, and contrary to Welch’s delicate frame, it’s a meaty mouthful.

Largely recorded in a disused synagogue, Lungs was produced by Simian Mobile Disco's James Ford, who helped shape the Klaxons' sound, Steve Mackie (formerly of Pulp) and Paul Epworth, helmsman for Bloc Party and Kate Nash.

‘Dog Days Are Over’ is the fierce ice-breaker, opening with deceivingly gently harp strings behind sweet vocals, before scaling to a neurotic crescendo, then plunging back into poignant piano loops. The track does well to set the schizophrenic pace for the rest of the record: we’re in for a ride.

Enter what is arguably the album highlight- ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’, and it’s something resemblant of an Elizabethan epic, with its sparse drums and organ clusters. With this second single, Welch has managed to create that rare thing: a pitch-perfect pop song.

If you think you can pin the p(op)-word or any single genre on Lungs, you’ll be proven wrong with the turn of every track. From the beautifully livid ‘Howl’ where Welch roars, “If you could only see / the beast you’ve made of me”; to the noisy-guitar party of ‘Kiss With A Fist’ (note the uncanny melodic resemblance to the White Stripes’ ‘We Are Gonna Be Friends’); the self-conscious ‘Girl With One Eye’ where Welch shows off her amazing vocal capacity in what verges dangerously on over-sing; Welch warns: "I’m gonna drink myself to death" with a choir of soulless Florences on the startling ‘Hurricane Drunk’; there’s the haunting poetry of ‘My Boy Builds Coffins’ as she continues on her threat-making spree: “My boy builds coffins…He's made one for himself/ One for me too/ One of these days he'll make one for you”; the pounding church melody of ‘Drumming Song’; and a low-key cover of the classic Candi Staton and Source club anthem ‘You’ve Got The Love’ (previously only available online) gives us a chance to catch our breath. Welch takes unashamed joy in leaving us guessing before every turn, like any great artist should.

In this tag-team era of fiery British pop sirens, it’s easy to pin Florence Welch as another beautiful red-head who likes to pull angry-girl faces and parade melancholy like it’s a designer handbag. But think again when you cross Lungs; it’s brilliant, brutal, and ridiculously sexy- a serious contender for album of the year.

What a beautifully strange album cover, it just makes you want to listen to see what it’s all about! All of the songs have such unusual names and some do seem to have a kind of dark theme behind them but every single one of them just sounds so pretty. Florence has a really strong voice that is just gorgeous and reminds me in some ways of Tori Amos who most people would probably remember for the song Cornflake Girl back in the 90’s. I’d say my fave songs from this album would have to be Hurricane Drunk, Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) and You’ve Got The Love – which I just can’t get out of my head at the moment! I’m also loving the track Kiss With A Fist which has a kind of different sound to it but if you do like any of these songs at all then you will just love the whole album! It’s definitely one that is very easy to listen to all the way through from start to finish and now I can’t wait to hear even more from Florence And The Machine! Have a listen now and I don’t think you will be disappointed at all :)
<3 xbeccax

Florence has definitely come up with a solid debut. Styles varying on the album from garage rock, soul, Britbeat and pop. With varying styles over 13 tracks and great lyrics. It is worth a listen. Fave tracks - Rabbit Heart, Cosmic Love and Girl with one eye.