Lungs- Track by track

This is an album which I have been waiting nearly two years for, and it was well worth the wait and the great hype which it has received from the press! Not only is it a great CD but it is a journey, it takes you to places and releases emotions that you didn’t even know you had. It’s one of the most intense LP’s since Bon Iver’s ‘For Emma forever ago.’ Even the artwork is beautiful, it has a very Victorian feel to it, it feels like an antique!

Dog Days Are Over

This edit is pretty much the same as the single edit but a bit heavier instrument wise, the percussion texture is certainly a lot thicker, yet the original ‘wall bangs’ are still present. It’s quite a good start to the album, although I do feel that ‘Between two lungs’ would have perhaps been a little more appropriate, but nonetheless, this is a great entry into the strange world of Florence Welch.

Rabbit Heart

Again, similar to the singe edit but longer due to the Balearic inspired piano and drum breakdown section in the middle. This song particularly showcases the brilliant harp skills of Florence’s harpist (Tom Monger) with the sawing arpeggios, it’s truly beautiful.

I’m not calling you a Liar

This song is a breakaway from the rest of the album really I think as it’s ve
ry stripped back in comparison. It cleverly builds up and down throughout and contains slightly haunting backing vocals which tie in nicely as this song was originally called ‘ghosts’ as it’s about the ghosts of ex-lovers present in new lovers.



Howl

Since the first time I heard this song back in February when I saw her perform at the NME Tour, it has remained one of my favourite Florence songs. It’s a song which started of being originally about a Werewolf and then gradually seems to have developed into a song about extremely passionate love. The lyrics “until I wrap myself inside your arms, I cannot rest”, demonstrating this. Even from the very beginning of this song, you know that the song is going to be epic, as it starts with a strange sound effect from Isabella’s (Florence’s keyboard player) keyboard and then there is a burst of a strong chords and a violin riff. The drum beat is wonderfully unusual, it sounds very ceremonial, almost sacrificial even, if you close your eyes, you feel like you’re at some strange tribal gathering. The lyrics are very poetic and you can tell that Florence has been clearly influenced by gothic horror. You can tell that whilst recording this song she’s very much into character and the ‘zone’, this may be due to the moon which she projected onto the studio walls during the recording of the song.

Kiss with a fist

I was slightly disappointed that Florence chose to use the original mix of this on the album as the live version is absolutely INSANE. Although, I suppose vocally it could be considered as inappropriate for an album as it contains so much screaming and shouting. But still, it’s an important song for Florence and it was one of the things which hooked in listeners after its single release in June 2008. It will always be a Florence favourite to all of her fans.

Girl with one eye

It was nice to hear a new recording of this song as the only one I’ve heard it the one which she put up for free download on her myspace site in 2007 which was a ‘home-recorded demo’ which just featured her and an acoustic guitar. The silent pauses, gasps, guitar slides and vocal acrobatics make gives this song a haunting, blues feel, which makes it very different from what the original version of the song by the London punk band ‘The Ludes’, must have been like.

Drumming

The drum part is very interesting with its slow fills and then heavy, simple beat in the chorus; it’s really dramatic, as is the violin part with its long, sustained notes. Florence uses religious imagery and semantic fields of heaven and hell to portray the intense emotions described in this song. It’s a song about being obsessed with someone because you are so in love with them. From the backing vocals to the clever little twinkles of Isabella’s keyboard, for me, it’s pretty much, musical perfection.

Between two Lungs

It begins with another odd keyboard sound! This song’s remained fairly simple, it still has the simple piano and drum parts in it which were made up and recorded by Florence herself. The Choir like backing vocals are lovely and are just perfect for the song.

Cosmic Love

This is Florence’s personal favourite song which she’s written and must mean a lot to her as she gets very emotional when she plays it on stage. The lyrics are stunning and powerful, as is the harp, which complements them. The drums and rhythmic piano are very simple but effective and the harp ending is just beautiful, this song is enough to melt anyone’s heart, in the same way that ‘Stars’ by The XX does. The extreme love which Florence wants to come across in this song really shines out.

Hurricane Drunk

The first four bars of this song sound deliciously oriental. The quiet verses that are just vocals beautifully intertwined with harp and piano build up for the chorus, forming a strong and catchy chorus. The multilayered vocal effects give the chorus a gospel feel and the lyrics are very heartfelt as the story she is telling is a true one, a tale of heartbreak and pain, which glimmer through nicely. It’s a song about the emotions that you feel when you have been heartbroken and I think one of the lines in the middle eight is one of my favourites in the whole song and show extreme confusion of emotions; “I’ve never felt so alive and so dead.”

Blinding

This song is EPIC with a capital E! It’s has a very dreamy sound to it which is exactly the feel which Florence wanted to create as she recorded it slumped on a bed. The introduction is awash with haunting laughter, screams and pizzicato violin. The lyrics, spine-tingling, this song is blissfully unsettling; from the way she twists the childhood fairytale of Snow White and takes it to darker places, to the spooky gasps, particularly the one which it ends on. The drumming, again, is strong and ceremonial and the song contains semantic fields of the human body, death and imagery of the undead. The way she sings about a girl “so in love with the wrong world” suggests it’s herself whom she’s singing about. The whole thing is just an explosion of darkness, as it would be if you were singing about the dreams that you have of your dead grandmother, which is what Florence claims the song is about.

You’ve got the love

This is Florence’s take on the Candi Staton, 90’s classic. The sawing violins are swapped for a harp, it’s simply stunning. Last time I saw Florence play this live I cried, it was so intense and Florence created so much love with this song alone. She’s re-created the love which she felt when this was played at raves when she was younger in this recording.

I hope it hasn’t taken you as long to read this as it took me to write this! But yeah, that’s it for this review. The album is definitely worth a buy, especially the deluxe version as it contains a bonus cd with demo versions and exclusive (never heard before) songs on it. I’d give it a 9 and half- 10 out of 10!