Florence and the Machine - Lungs

Rating

: * * * * *

Verdict

:

Magnificently mad, the debut album of the year.

Florence Welch is a severe sort of lass. She writes angry songs about all manner of dark and creepy matters - coffins, ghosts, bloodshed and even werewolves.

Yet her music is strangely joyful and exhilarating. It has that rare ability to make you feel invincible.

Her voice is haunting and powerful, often steering songs into the realm of a religious experience. If Tim Burton was to start his own church, Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) would be the perfect theme song. The song, like Burton and Welch, is mad but magnificent.

The whimsical sounds of harps, tin drums and sweeping string arrangements are countered by Welch's gothic imagery and bellowing crescendos, setting her apart from other indie pop princesses.

On Kiss With a Fist she rocks out jauntily while detailing how she will "set fire to our bed". It's enough to make Bjork seem stable.

But perhaps Welch is most unsettling when she croons softly on the seductive Girl With One Eye, singing "I'll cut your little heart out because you made me cry," before building to a rowdy and rousing finale that begs you to shout along madly with her.

The hype surrounding Florence and the Machine has been building for months, if not years. There are whispers of awards, accolades and even the Mercury Prize. And all would be deserved.

Provocative, enchanting and thoroughly mad, Lungs is the most interesting and exciting debut record of the year thus far.

Joanna Hunkin