It's no secret that I've been obsessed with this Lungs since I first heard it almost a year ago now. There are few albums where I love every song and will listen to the whole thing in its entirety after the third or fourth go through, but this happens to be one of them. It appears that Florence and her marketing team, and in fact the entire listening public agree - this album had seven singles! I'm itching pretty bad for her sophomore album and in the meantime I scour the internet for clues as to when I will finally hear it, or more often, I search for b-sides and covers to tie me over. (On a sidenote - her cover of "Addicted to Love" has kept me satisfied for some months now.) What especially interests me about this box set (in its many forms I've found on various websites) is what is (typically) the third album called Remixes, Covers, and Rarities.
It opens with a cover of Beyonce's "Halo" and Florence's powerful voice gives it new depth. She also manages to hit those high ornamentations with grace. Second, is "Hurricane Drunk," my favorite from the original album, this time acoustic. It trades the pulsing beat of the chorus for an harp emphasis, which actually gives the song a much more fluid feel. This would represent a washing flood after the actual storm, but still in keeping with the metaphor. I'm reading into this one though, it was meant to be a simple acoustic version.
Then, there are three remixes, "You've Got the Love," "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)," and "Drumming Song." Each are pretty good and given a solid dance beat. "Drumming Song" becomes the most abstract and therefore the most interesting. It is highly repetitive and her vocals are traded for multiple reworkings of the main drumming theme.
"Flakes" is another cover, this time by Mystery Jets, who also hail from London. Florence floats on syllables, holding each one until the next one can no longer wait. Underneath is a picked guitar riff, played almost in banjo style. Intermittently a chorus enters singing like a wind.
I always love a good demo, especially if its a song I can't get out of my head. "An Offering" is ok, but a little unnecessary here. It's only an early version of "Rabbit Heart," already appearing in one version on this album, and its not much different from the version released on Lungs. Likewise, "You've Got the Love" gets another spin. At least this second showing is different enough that I need to hear it through.
"Cosmic Love" is quiet like "Hurricane Drunk" with a harp emphasis. I've never been a huge fan of the harp sound, let alone in favor of its use in pop music, but hear I'm forced to the other extreme. It's incredibly catchy and seems necessary to the song, which I love.
The last two songs are gems - originals by Florence, although I can see why they would be here instead of on the main album. "Are You Hurting the One You Love" is another example of her ability to pick new and interesting percussion tracks and still not let it drown out her amazing voice. "Swimming" shows her melodic abilities while not falling into the standard verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus form.
Always stunning, always captivating, everything she delivers is gold. It is both a curse and a blessing to put out such a great album - it leaves me craving more, but I still can't stop listening.
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