FEATURE:
Vinyl Corner
IMAGE CREDIT: Tom Beard and Tabitha Denholm
Florence and the Machine - Lungs
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THIS is quite a timely excursion…
IN THIS PHOTO: Florence Welch/PHOTO CREDIT: Craig McDean
into Vinyl Corner because, in July, Florence and the Machine’s Lungs turned ten. It is an album I remember vividly when it came out and it sounds strange that it is a decade old! The original Lungs album is one that amazes me but, as it has reached this milestone, there are new anniversary releases. You can buy a vinyl and cassette combination and it is something I am going to snap up very soon. I do love the fact that some really big albums are getting new releases on their anniversaries. The Beatles’ Abbey Road has a few release for its fiftieth anniversary and Jeff Buckley’s Grace turns twenty-five in a week – there is a lot of new material coming to light. Here, as Rolling Stone write, Florence Welch/her band have brought some treats out:
“Florence and the Machine are marking the 10th anniversary of their debut album, 2009’s Lungs, with a double vinyl box set, alongside anniversary colored vinyl and cassette editions. They will be released on August 16th and are available for pre-order.
The limited edition burgundy vinyl and cassette anniversary editions comprise the original 13-song album. The deluxe box set is cloth bound and features the original Lungs on colored vinyl and also includes a second LP housing three previously unreleased demo tracks, an acoustic version of “My Boy Builds Coffins” a cover of the Beatles’ “Oh! Darling,” which was recorded live at Abbey Road, and other rarities and B-sides.
Along with announcing the anniversary editions, Florence Welch and the band unveiled two previously unreleased demos that appear in the box set, “My Best Dress” and “Donkey Kosh”.
These releases are out now and you should definitely invest in the vinyl. It is an essential purchase that documents the debut of a remarkable artist. Florence Welch is still recording, of course, and she is among the finest artists in the country. 2018’s High as Hope was nominated for a Mercury Prize last year and it was her fourth album. Over the course of a decade, Welch has matured and changed as an artist but she remains as striking and unique now as she did back in 2009. Before she recorded her debut album, Welch considered her options when entering the music industry. There are rumours she was thinking of stepping into Country and Folk but she was unhappy with these paths. She started writing with her childhood friend Isabella Summers in London and everything sort of fell into place. Welch and Summers did perform together, briefly, as a duo but Welch had gone through some heartache and one can hear a lot of that in Lungs. So many songwriters would channel this sadness and loss into something generic and commercial but, instead, Lungs bursts with life and personality; it is bursting with emotion and power. Before long, Welch joined with Robert Ackroyd, Chris Hayden; Mark Saunders and Tom Monger to form Florence and the Machine. Welch had been working on various sounds before forming the group and, rather than go with something Folk or Country-based, what we hear on Lungs is a bigger and more wave-like sound – something she was keen to explore.
Welch had written a few songs prior to Lungs but very few of these made their way onto the album. Kiss with a Fist and Between Two Lungs are on the album but, aside from that, Welch was keen to reflect more modern tastes/bands and was being inspired by artists such as Arcade Fire. Lungs does not have s singular concept: it is more a collection of songs that covers everything from guilt and love to nightmares and dreams. It is a very eclectic album and one that sounded unlike anything in 2009. I think there was this impression Welch was just another Pop singer with a slightly quirky edge. There are a number of producers on Lungs - Paul Epworth, James Ford; Charlie Hugall, Stephen Mackey; Isabella Summers and Eg White – but it does not mean the album loses its personality and individuality. Welch co-writes all the tracks (except the closer, You’ve Got the Love; a cover of the Candi Staton song) and her voice reigns high in the mix. The reviews for Lungs were largely positive upon its release but I also think, in retrospect, there has been a lot more love cast the way of the album. Maybe that is down to the fact Welch has released another three albums and she is a worldwide star. I want to bring in a few reviews that address Lungs from a number of different angles.
In this review, AllMusic talk about the impact and urgency of Lungs:
“Precocious Brit Florence Welch fired a bullet into the head of the U.K. music scene in 2008 with the single "Kiss with a Fist," a punk-infused, perfectly juvenile summer anthem that had critics wiping the names Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, and Kate Nash from their vocabularies and replacing them with Florence + the Machine. While the comparisons were apt at the time, "Kiss with a Fist" turned out to be a red herring in the wake of the release of Lungs, one of the most musically mature and emotionally mesmerizing albums of 2009. With an arsenal of weaponry that included the daring musicality of Kate Bush, the fearless delivery of Sinéad O'Connor, and the dark, unhinged vulnerability of Fiona Apple, the London native crafted a debut that not only lived up to the machine-gun spray of buzz that heralded her arrival, but easily surpassed it. Like Kate Bush, Welch has little interest (for the most part) in traditional pop structures, and her songs are at their best when they see something sparkle in the woods and veer off of the main trail in pursuit. "Kiss with a Fist," as good as it is, pales in comparison to standout cuts like "Dog Days Are Over," "Hurricane Drunk," "Drumming Song," "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)," and "Cosmic Love," all of which are anchored to the earth by Welch's knockout voice, a truly impressive and intuitive trio of producers, and a backing band that sounds as intimate with the material as its creator”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Jackson/Trunk Archive
The Guardian had their say:
“An intense young woman who read a lot of Edgar Allan Poe as a child, Florence specialises in dark, gothic imagery - werewolves, wedding dresses, bleeding hearts and coffins - and quirky tunes that start quietly and build into big, soaring climaxes. The songs are generally angry, with an undercurrent of violence and/or animal passion, and a nagging hook to keep you there. When this girl falls in love, you gather, she really falls. When it's over, the only recourse is pain, rage and vast quantities of alcohol. The current single Rabbit Heart was written after her label asked her for something more upbeat, but ended up with a typically jaunty chorus about sacrifice: "This is the gift/ It comes with a price/ Who is the lamb/And who is the knife?".
Sometimes the rough edges have been over-smoothed: there are all kinds of strange, cheap synthesised noises buried under the layers of polish that I'd like to hear more clearly. But this is a minor gripe, for despite its dark heart, there's a real joy about this debut. It's the sound of someone who has found their voice and is keen to use it - as loudly and freely as possible”.
Finally, I want to quote from a Pitchfork review that, whilst a little dismissive in place, has a lot of positives:
"Seems that I have been held in some dreaming state/ A tourist in the waking world, never quite awake," begins Welch on "Blinding". The song is about Welch's desire to put her girlish dreams away and face reality, but it conjures a place that's frightfully untouchable all the same. When notions of big-budget music become increasingly rare and name-brand artists are giving fans intimate concerts from their bedrooms via YouTube, Florence Welch's zeal for all things bright and/or shiny comes off as its own act of rebel defiance. Coming to her senses isn't an option”.
When Lungs was released, Florence and the Machine gained comparisons to Annie Lennox and Regina Spektor and, whilst there are elements of other artists, one cannot deny the original spirit of Welch. Her voice can go from soft to enraptured; there are choirs and odd sounds; sleigh bells and harps that sounds utterly wonderful and enticing. Some criticised Lungs for being over-produced but I think there is so much to pack in and there is not too much polish on the record. Instead, all these special and diverse elements are fused together and, more than an album, Lungs is the sound of Florence Welch unleashed and exploring. With an expert production team behind the Machine, you get these huge, tribal drums and phenomenal sounds. Welch’s powerful and always-astonishing voice might seem a little forceful and overwrought but is the sign of a singer who is holding nothing back and keen to give every song her all. Since its release, you can hear how she has paved a way for other artists to push music and incorporate different elements; put their voice out there and sort of fly. Welch, as I said, has changed a little since her debut but I think she sounded pretty formed and ready on Lungs. It is an extraordinary debut and one that, on its tenth anniversary, has been treated to new releases. I suggest people grab Lungs on vinyl and cast their mind back to a time when this hurricane of an artist arrived. Welch was not just about force and power: there are delicate touches and so many spiritual, tender and magical moments that blend in this intoxicating brew. Whether you buy/stream the original studio version of Lungs or grab the new anniversary releases, acquaint yourself with…
ONE of 2009’s finest albums.