Creative, innovative, and heart-wrenchingly amazing, all that is Florence + The Machine. How many people create a soundtrack to their everyday lives? We all do it.
You may not consciously know you’re doing it, but as you walk through campus you probably have some song streaming through your mind. It might be Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z or Radiohead, but you’re playing something up there.
As you prepare for a first date, have a bad day or are just fueled with emotion a song is playing in your head. Four minutes of music can be the harmony to any moment in your life, whether it’s giving you the opportunity to escape from the moment or to enhance it.
Florence + The Machine is one band that should definitely be part of your mental playlist in your life’s soundtrack.
Originally from England, Florence Welsh and her band have been described as a mixed genre of soul and rock. Florence leads the vocals while “The Machine” is a group of guys used to create the music she needs to match her voice, using instruments like the harp for a touch of creative ingenuity.
Florence + The Machine’s debut album, Lungs, was released in mid-2009 in the United Kingdom, but didn’t begin to gain recognition until early 2010. Since then, it has been a whirlwind of performances, awards and various appearances across the globe. The group has been praised across all music Medias and has, in the last year, made mainstream success in the U.S.
With having only a few live performances in New York and Boston, they have made a name for themselves without much effort, it seems. They performed at the 2010 MTV Music Awards and the 2011 Grammys. At the latter, Florence had to share the stage with four other women, a fact that eclipsed her talent during the performance.
If you need convincing of the band’s abilities, listen to “Cosmic Love” and let it be your gateway to the rest of their album. Not only will it hit every nerve in your body, but it will change the way you listen to music. Her voice is dominant yet serene and cinematically entertaining.
Their video for “Cosmic Love” is something of great wonder as well. The video takes ‘innovation’ and ‘creativity’ to new levels. Two of their other songs, “Dog Days Are Over” or “Kiss With a Fist,” have more uplifting beats, sure to attract the mainstream listener. With powerful vocals, Florence gives you an emotive, honest and heartfelt album worth giving some attention to.
The band will begin their first U.S. tour later this year. Until they post a date for Texas, visit the band’s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/florenceandthemachine or their site at
www.florenceandthemachine.net, and make sure to catch their Oscars performance, February 27 at 8pm.