Florence + The Machine - Lungs
Critic Score
Based on 33 reviews
2009 Ratings: #66 / 923
Year End Rank: #24
User Score
2009 Rank: #47
Liked by 249 people
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Evening Standard
On these 13 beguiling songs, whether she's trading punches on Kiss with a Fist, having fabulous sex on Howl or brimming with optimism on Dog Days Are Over, Welch is a star.
91
A.V. Club

Florence Welch has a penchant for dramatics ... Lungs ... manages to be grandiose, relatable, and incessantly catchy all at the same time.

90
PopMatters

What you have, right here, is a truly rare thing — a perfect debut. So congratulations, Florence.

90
AllMusic
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.
90
DIY
‘Lungs’ is an extraordinary contemporary pop triumph. A fresh, new, individual and exciting record.
85
Prefix

Welch, like every pop act, is trying to use her music directly to influence her image, but something about the consistency and craft of Lungs makes it seem that Florence + the Machine cares about the look of her music more than most.

81
Pretty Much Amazing

Florence & The Machine’s Lungs is honest music making, real music made through creative innovation for the new age.

80
Slant Magazine
Florence's music is particularly sensitive to studio gloss; her singing is a fine balance between elegance and frenzy.
80
Drowned in Sound
As it is, they're more than quite good, and all the better for the tracks that surround them.
80
Clash
‘Lungs’ is rammed with silky soul, spiky ballads, raw blues and unashamedly big pop songs, all spiced with the singer’s trademark gothic humour and breath-stealing baritone.
80
The Guardian
Welch has created a sonic labyrinth of xylophones, percussion, Gregorian chants and werewolves. It can sound affected, occasionally crass, but there's enough adventure to make this worth backing for the Mercury.
80
God Is in the TV
It certainly manages to please the pop-ears without being obvious in writing or in production, trying to find its own way while still cheekily ambling along the edges of already established sounds.
80
The Observer
It's the sound of someone who has found their voice and is keen to use it - as loudly and freely as possible
80
Gigwise
‘Lungs’ is a soul record for the American Apparel generation, the blues for Skins kids, and it sounds appropriately twinkly and cavernous.
80
Q Magazine
There's a lot going on, but Welch never confuses breadth with depth.
80
The Irish Times
Pitched somewhere between Kate Bush and Björk, Welch and her band, The Machine, have an eclectically enthusiastic racket of a sound that is just the right side of stroppy and petulant.
80
Sputnikmusic
A fantastic debut from a very promising British talent.
80
The Fly
Produced by the holy sonic trinity of legends Paul Epworth, James Ford and Steve Mackay, the record is magical; a subtle, elegant and delicious listen from start to finish.
80
Under the Radar

Lung's song peaks and valleys can occasionally be tiring. But when taken as an insight into the artist, it's nothing short of brilliant.

80
SPIN
She always makes you feel something -- even if that “something” is suicidal.
80
musicOMH
It's a bold, inventive record that bristles with energy and passion.
75
Consequence of Sound

Like it or not, Lungs is going to soundtrack what is left of 2009. Grab a piece while it’s hot.

72
Pitchfork
Unlike fellow quirky UK songstresses La Roux and Little Boots, Florence Welch moves away from the Lily/Amy template by building her career from the bottom up.
70
Rolling Stone
Welch sets her unique ideas about romance to punk blues, Kate Bush-style mystic art rock and crazy-Celt bombast.
70
FACT Magazine

Lungs isn’t great, but it’s good, and it’s not often you can say that about something from the UK that sells 63, 000 copies in its first week.

60
Uncut
Too often a limited voice and over-egged arrangements strain to little effect.
60
Mojo
This is a brave, bold, inevitably flawed record from the kind of talent we should be esctastically happy to have around.
60
The Independent

It would be a surprise, given the weight of media coverage, if Lungs didn't scale the higher reaches of the album chart, but am I alone in considering it yet another case of a lot being made of too little?

60
The Telegraph
There’s a heart-pumping exhilaration to Florence and the Machine's debut album 'Lungs'.
60
No Ripcord

These songs probably sound otherworldly when played live, but the over-laden stylization actually fills Lungs with unnecessary fat.

60
NME
If only it was a thread long enough to weave through the whole album and tie it together… as it is, it may be breathtaking in places, but Flossie’s ‘Lungs’ are just a bit too full of bluster.
GersonAOTY
80

"Lungs" is an album that I have less emotional attachment to, as the lyrics here seem less mature and well developed, which is to be expected since this is the band's first album. However, it's probably their most creative and "cartoonish" album, putting together ideas in an intelligent and beautifully youthful way.

schurtt
80

Esses dias fui rever algumas apresentações do Florence + The Machine e fiquei bastante emocionado com a energia que a vocalista, Florence Welch, entrega toda vez que sobe aos palcos. Por conta da sensação nostálgica que esse momento me passou, achei que seria interessante revisitar a discografia completa. Começo logicamente pelo Lungs que, embora seja um álbum de estreia, mostra bastante maturidade e experiência do grupo ... read more

ChazzaMaate
86

Pure magic from start to finish.

Take Kate Bush and combine her with Weyes Blood and you get Florence + The Machine. So grandiose and dazzling, with amazing vocals, and really lush expansive production. Very consistently colourful with plenty of emotion, and certainly not something I was expecting from a debut album. There isn't much wrong with this album, it's all very well put together, but nothing too life-changing. I can certainly see myself really enjoying their music, because if this ... read more

jlebon
86

Lungs is such an apt title for one of her albums cause boy can she sing

merduardo
80

Florence é uma artista que, por algum motivo, nunca clicou pra mim. Mesmo assim, não há como negar que o som da banda, especialmente nesse álbum, é simplesmente catártico, música pra cantar do fundo do pulmão!

Fav tracks: Dog Days Are Over, Rabbit Heart, Howl, Cosmic Love e My Boy Builds Coffins
Least fav: Girl With One Eye

Irissssssssssss
100

Finally time to check out another artist MOTHER (Ethel Cain) was heavily influenced by, Florence. Now I’ve only known about her existence for a little over a year at this point, originally cuz on the day I found out about Ethel Cain she had performed Morning Elvis with her so that was like the first thing I saw on both of their social medias. And when I started to read more of Ethel Cain’s interviews and stuff, it’s so clear how big of an influence Florence was on her, but I ... read more

Purchasing Lungs from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement
Comments (3)
Sign in to comment
1y
1y
1y