florence + elly
I think 2 is better than 1, because ‘2 becomes 1′ is the oh-so-awful song by spice girls. Pardon the corny-ness ‘cos this week we’ve got a double-bill recommendation lined up: FLORENCE + THE MACHINE and LA ROUX.
Similarities: Both Florence Welch and Elly Jackson were both born and bred in London. Both bands were voted in BBC’s Sounds of 2009, of which FATM came in 3rd and LR came in 5th (If you must really know, Little Boots came in 1st and White Lies came in 2nd, with Empire of the Sun coming in at 4th between FATM and LR).
Both were nominated for this year’s Barclaycard Mercury Prize.
That’s where their similarities end.
Florence + The Machine - Lungs
Lungs is a pretty delightful album to listen to, all the way from the first to the thirteenth song. Especially when you’ve heard it way before all your other friends have, and you’re thinking of boasting your brilliant find. Described as ’soul inspired indie”, I couldn’t agree more. Try to picture Sinead O’Connor, Sarah Mclachlan or even Paula Cole singing at double the speed, backed by “indie-ish” harp, piano and hard-thumping drums. In fact, if I’m allowed to, I’d like to call Florence Welch today’s Kate Bush.
Tracks we love: Dog Days are Over, Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up), You Got The Love.
Bigbeat electronica version of
Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) (P.E.S.T. Remix)
LA ROUX
80’s synth-pop has never gone away and with Elly pushing the case further with La Roux, I don’t see how will we ever forget the likes of The Eurythemics, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode or the Human League. Citing them as her major influences and coupled with the brilliance of co-writing partner, Ben Langmaid and Dubstep maestro, Skream (who produced the album), La Roux, I feel can be immediately placed alongside the other brilliant synthpop bands who are currently the epitome of the genre: Passion Pit, Ladyhawke, Little Boots, etc. AND mind you, this is much better-written pop than Lady Gaga’s!
Tracks we love: Quicksand, In For the Kill, Bulletproof, Tigerlily.
A lil’ something for the dubsteppers: In for the Kill (Skream’s let’s get ravey remix)
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