Florence and the Machine

Only in a land where Dizzee Rascal scores three consecutive number one singles can the eternally lingering sounds of London, England's Florence and the Machine be considered a commercial juggernaut. On the strength of five top 100 singles, Lungs, the debut from Florence Welch and her Machines, has been wildly celebrated in the UK, harkening back to an era where female artists like Kate Bush and Annie Lennox were praised for their impassionate gender- (and genre-) bending delivery. Luckily, Welch has the gumption to carry such weight, as singles like "Dog Days are Over" and "Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)" act as an aftershock to Welch's emotional earthquake. Shit-hot producers Paul Epworth, James Ford and Steve Mackey poach the band's reserved song structures, allowing the spooky "Cosmic Love" and the goofy "Kiss with a Fist" to remain on the opposite sides of the listener's psyche. Q: Why does Lungs comes off as a monster? A: It simply acts like one.