Florence and the Machine: Lungs

Jul 5 2009 by Paul Cole, Sunday Mercury

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE Lungs (Island)

wPLUCKED from the cuddly, credible world of indie rock and cast into the great music biz hype machine, Florence Welch follows up a string of singles and a Glasto gig with her full-length album. Early singles Dog Days Are Over and the White Stripes-styled Kiss With A First stand out as the strongest tracks here, plus, of course, You Got The Love (a live band cover version of a mash-up, all very post-modern). Elsewhere on the album, Florence earns all those Kate Bush comparisons by playing the moody, arty diva. This is a dazzling debut set. JD