Florence and the Machine

[Harrison]

Has anyone else come across this new female singer? She calls herself Florence and the Machine because it is basically just her, but sometimes she has a couple of backing musicians with her, and other times she just sings and plays instruments, backed by prerecorded music.

Those of you in the UK might have heard her song "A Kiss with a Fist is better than none", which is currently being used in the promotional advert for the new 4 Music TV channel which is launching in a few days time.

Her voice has a sound reminiscent of other recent London breakthrough acts, especially Kate Nash, however the thing I find great about her music (that I've heard so far) is the great, original and very refreshing lyrics she writes. There is also quite a raw punk sound to her music, that sometimes reminds me of The White Stripes, and her personality is really mad in the live performances I've seen.

My favourite song so far is called "Girl with one eye".

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=UXHo5xlBhgE

This live version of "A kiss with a fist" shows the singing talent she has

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=ENvihwd2bLs

And the recorded version so you can hear the final version (I prefer the live version):

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=tpsDegqioVA

And this next one is really great for a live performance. Ignore the first minute or so as that is a bit strange and quite rough, but the rest shows how "unique" she is, and from about 1:45 the song and her singing ability starts to show.

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=DOMYlSpmLPw

And a final one for some mad song ideas:

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=dzynmMspI5Q

Oh, and finally an interview and song to show just how "unique" she is:

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=wvMfbfZKVbY