florence + the machine

[kuro_neko]

picked up their debut album a week ago and have since become obsessed. best debut I've heard in ages. this debut effort has been the subject of all sorts of acclaim, shortlisted for the mercury prize, and they received an award from the british critic's association (or some sort) that was created specifically for them. kind of insane. the following videos are recent singles and the last is a favorite of mine from the album.

dog days are over

rabbit heart (raise it up!)

drumming song

cosmic love

[Inaudible-Whisper]

Big fan of them. The debut didn't blow me away, but it is very solid. There are a good few fans here as far as I'm aware based on the CLT topic.

[bromithia]

Yup, love Florence + The Machine. Really wanna see them live.

[Scribble R]

"I wonder if EMF would like this" did cross my mind when I saw the ad.

Actually I may listen to Lungs today/tomorrow and post what I think =X

[kuro_neko]

Originally Posted by Inaudible-Whisper

Big fan of them. The debut didn't blow me away, but it is very solid. There are a good few fans here as far as I'm aware based on the CLT topic.

I guess I should explain what blew me away. I had no clue who they were, I just kind of stumbled onto them, not knowing the whole deal in the UK. they had recently added the deluxe edition to the iTunes US store and I saw the cover in the new albums and checked it out. I sampled some of the songs and then went to youtube and watched Dog Days Are Over and felt a little bit unsure, like perhaps they were one of those "art" bands, but then I watched the Drumming Song video and that really blew me away. The fact that Florence can straddle so many lines at the same time is why it blows me away. Her voice is suited for soul/gospel music, which she has said was an influence throughout her life, but their music mixes elements of all sorts of genres and isn't afraid to stray into pop r&b (which is what she said she was going for with drumming song). that lack of a clear desire to be "different" and create "art" is what really draws me in. She just is interested in creating music, be it artsy or pop or what not, and throughout it all is such an intense energy. Since her musical taste varies from obscure indie to mainstream top 40 pop, the end result comes off quite interesting. I've read a bit about her philosophy regarding making music and I can say it definitely carries over in the music. so many times on the album you can hear that they are recording percussion from hands on walls and not on drum sets. the physical nature of the percussion especially really carries over well and I haven't heard a band that managed to capture that kind of raw emotional intensity in pop music in ages.

I guess if I lived in the UK and I had Flo shoved in my face constantly by critics and the subject of much talk and debate I'd have my opinion swayed a bit, but the fact that I kind of wandered into this on my own and made a connection to the music with no influence on me definitely accounts for my reaction as being "blown away."

I felt this way about Bat for Lashes when I first heard Fur and Gold but Flo easily slipped past Natasha Khan in my book in terms of sheer catchiness. most of Lungs is so amazingly catchy you can't help but just listen to it on repeat, and it happens to be written well enough that it does wear out too easily. I've had it on repeat for most of the week and most of it is still fresh.

also, the b-sides to the album are awesome, bird song especially. if you haven't heard any of the deluxe album material, definitely get your hands on it. its all on imeem/itunes us/itunes uk etc

[cjhobbies00]

Seriously debating whether or not I should go see Florence and the Machine tomorrow...if I stay for the entire concert I might get stranded downtown and not be able to return home

[kuro_neko]

Originally Posted by cjhobbies00

Seriously debating whether or not I should go see Florence and the Machine tomorrow...if I stay for the entire concert I might get stranded downtown and not be able to return home

doooooooooooo it. whats the worst that could happen? stay out all find? find a club and make it an all nighter, take the first train/bus/taxi whatever back. they are only playing like 3 shows in the US and then they are committed to other shows throughout Europe and even Japan through early next year, so get it while its hot!

[cjhobbies00]

i would have work the next day...and it's work from 10 am and i won't make it back till 10:30 at night. I've already decided against it, I definitely won't make it to the bus.

Florence might be a bit too much live anyways. I really disappointed that I'll miss Girls' concert next week, though...

[kuro_neko]

this user has videos from almost the entire Toronto show

http://www.youtube.com/stardust055

[cjhobbies00]

Thanks Kuro