LIVE GIG REVIEW

ARTIST – Florence + The Machine

VENUE –  Rough Trade, Brick Lane

Well by now pretty much every music fan in the country will have heard  about 22 year old London singer/songwriter Florence + The Machine.  Hyped to the max over a year ago (something our UK music press just love to do) she has been proclaimed and acclaimed without any real chart success even winning an absurd critics choice Brit Award with only one single.  None of her tracks released so far have seriously dented the top 20. Latest single Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) has been buoying around the top ten without finding its feet so is she simply Little Boots part deux?

No, thankfully not. Florence has most definitely some big musical chops.  Her performance at Glastonbury (while not as astonishing as some would have you believe) demonstrated her star presence and a bizarre but beguiling combination of Amazonian fierceness with little girl charm.  More importantly the music is very good indeed but not quite great.  Comparisons have been plentiful with Kate Bush but honestly I doubt there is a track on her debut album (very good also) that people will still be singing in 20 years.  This doesn’t mean that Flo has failed, far from it.  What she has done as stuck to her guns, created an image and sound that is distinctive and credible while getting on with winning over both press & public alike.

In many ways she reminds me of a female Patrick Wolf.  Both have a strong Celtic & bohemian vibe to their music.  He is far more anti-establishment perhaps indicative of how female singers flourish more under record label management than male in the industry.  What they both possess however is a sense of individuality and the ability to genuinely connect with their audience through sweeping, emotive, epic tunes.

Last nights performance at Rough Trade was a nice little showcase of a few of the lesser heard tracks from newly released debut album ‘Lungs’.  Amusingly Florence nipped out to use the toilet after her sound-check and passed us all in the queue.  No one really noticed it was her despite the trademark flaming red locks and black hot-pants and then she nearly tripped going into the bar next door.  As amusing as this might be she mentioned it as soon as she got on stage and it simply added to her charming persona.  She doesn’t take herself too seriously and when she smiles and giggles you can’t help but fall under her spell. Then she starts to sing.

There is no question that her style and voice is marmite but no one can fault her technically. Her vocal range and enchanting delivery of the story is the stuff of which powerhouses are made. The material focuses heavily on the emotional high’s & low’s of relationships and as Florence stated  ’this one is about those times were you just go completely crazy when you break-up with someone. Just me then? OK….’. You get the impression that these lyrics are absolutely her personal view and she’s hoping you’ll get it but if not enjoy it anyway.

‘Between Two Lungs’ was the 1st track and it kicked off things nicely  with her powerful voice ripping through the crowd.  Up next was the anemic White Stripes esq. anthem ‘Kiss With A Fist’ which isn’t about her own experience of domestic violence she cheerily informed us but rather about an aggressive, passionate couple she used to see around Camberwell.  Hard to tell whether she was telling the truth or simply teasing the press but regardless it got everyone singing and clapping along.  ’My Boy Build’s Coffins’ is a gothic fairytale both quirky and twisted with a bittersweet sting in its tail… ‘one of these day’s he’ll make one for you’. Great stuff.  You can imagine  her writing songs for a Tim Burton movie one day.

Hurricane Drunk and Drumming Song were good if not particularly memorable while the highlight the wonderful ‘Cosmic Love’ shows why she has all the potential for greatness.  With its Arcade Fire style drums and impressively assured vocals, this is perhaps the most challenging yet rewarding song on the album.  It lifts you to a point where your threatened with a massive chorus but instead it leaves you teetering on the edge without sacrificing any of the power or potency. Genuinely thrilling.

Dog Days Are Over and current single Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) were perfect choices to end the set with and she delivered both with ebullient energy and precision leaving the crowed wanting more.  True sign that a star has been born, coifed, media trained to the hilt and thrown out there for our consumption.  I think she’ll do just fine.

**** (4 out of 5)

Matt Williams

Tags: Between Two Lungs, Dog Days Are Over, Drumming Song, florence & the machine, Hurricane Drunk, Kiss With A Fist, Lungs, My Boy Builds Coffins, Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up), record label, Rough Trade

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 5:55 pm and is filed under Matt Williams, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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