Florence + The Machine--Lungs: A New Victor in the Impersonate Kate Bush Competition

One of the few comforts of the American anglophile is that we hold few preconceptions when one of the UK’s new talents fills our ears. We can take the music for what it is, without the promotional side of things mucking judgments up too severely. Even with the internet providing easy access to overseas press, what us yanks read won't summon the same amount of skepticism as hearing a song by a fresh up and comer on every iPhone commercial and UK teen drama before that artist's damn album is even released.

The above reasons made me count my lucky stars with heightened appreciation upon hearing Lungs, the debut from loopy poppet Florence Welch. There was an awareness of Welch's tendency of wearing her flamboyance on her sleeve, and her songs soundtracking popular British things, like the television show Skins, but mostly I let her immense voice override these facts.

Yet, I couldn’t let Lungs fully choke the life out of my skepticism. The first few tracks--instant summertime classic “Dog Days Are Over,” bombastic “Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up),” girl group + folk mishmash "I'm Not Calling You a Liar," synthy and sensual “Howl”--certainly weren’t lacking for glorious moments, but I couldn’t snuff uncertainty over just how Welch was going to sustain that “It’s in the trees!” Kate Bush sound for a whole album and still keep it interesting by bringing her own style into the mix.

Welch’s greatest weapon is perhaps her voice, which actually recalls Melanie more than Bush, with a faint rendering of Blaine Harrison's of Mystery Jets added in. This is not a bad thing at all. Lungs’ other major saving grace is its two central tracks, the punky, wail-showcasing “Kiss with a Fist”; and the cell block cabaret cum blues rock creepfest, “Girl with One Eye” (although the Bayou Percussion version, featured on the deluxe edition of the album, is even spookier). These two tracks take Welch right out of the tropic of whimsy and plop her straight down in grittier climes. The transition is refreshing, and actually effortless.

However, somewhere after the truly lovely “Between Two Lungs”, the songs begin to drag; “Hurricane Drunk” and The Source cover “You’ve Got the Love” give hints at what Lungs might have been were it not for Welch having weirdness in spades. Yet, I've been giving a good eight tracks repeated play ever since that first naïve listen. Lungs may not be as unique as Welch or her crew may want you to believe (Kate Bush is mentioned in most reviews of the album for a good reason), although drenching a slightly violent album in harps is a lofty step in the right direction. Although Lungs is not faultless, it’s doubtful that any divas of America can counter such a debut, but maybe that’s just my American cynicism talking.

Level of Disappointment: 4; it would have been a bummer if the music hadn’t lived up to that brilliant album cover. As an aside, this has been a great year for album covers, hasn’t it?

To Watch: Official Video for “Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up).” (Ooh, look at all those British eccentrics!)