Why I Love Florence Welch...

That name rings a bell... right? If not, you may know her better as the powerhouse frontwoman of Indie Rock band Florence and the Machine, accompanied by Isabella Summers, Robert Ackroyd and Tom Monger, plus a selection of touring members. Their newest album High As Hope is a ten track work of absolute wonder and ironically the best way to describe it is using the title of its predecessor, "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful". It doesn't fall off or fade out at any point, every song is massive and it's impossible to describe just how beautiful this entire album is. I don't think I've ever listened to an album and fallen in love with it immediately, I always have to listen to it a few times before I connect with the music and decide whether I like it or not, but this definitely wasn't the case with High As Hope - it was love at first sight. Not just a singer - Florence also released a book of lyrics and poetry, titled Useless Magic... Track listing; June Hunger South London Forever Big God Sky Full Of Song Grace Patricia 100 Years The End Of Love No Choir Florence and the Machine is a musical concept formed by two best friends in their early twenties. Florence revealed the origin of their unusual name in an interview with The Sunday Times; "The name... started off as a private joke that got out of hand. I made music with my friend, who we called Isabella Machine to which I was Florence Robot. When I was about an hour away from my first gig, I still didn't have a name, so I thought, 'Okay, I'll be Florence Robot/ Isa Machine,' before realising that name was so long that it'd drive me mad." And since then, the band have come an incredibly long way, from being a support (alongside Adele) for Kate Nash at Camden's Lock Tavern to headlining festivals (the first female headliner of Glastonbury this century) and embarking on a sell-out world tour (currently in Australia with Billie Eilish and Marlon Williams in tow). Florence's angelic voice blesses this entire album and it could well possibly be their rawest album to date, opening up through her lyrics about drug and alcohol abuse and struggles she faced as a teenager: "At seventeen, I started to starve myself I thought that love was a kind of emptiness And at least I understood then the hunger I felt And I didn't have to call it loneliness" Florence has been nominated a Brit award for 'British Female Solo Artist', going up against Anne-Marie, Jess Glynne, Jorja Smith and Lily Allen (surely it's a shoo-in). High As Hope has also been nominated for the 'Mastercard British Album Of The Year' award, competing with the likes of George Ezra, Anne-Marie, Jorja Smith and The 1975. You can vote for the awards here. Possibly one of the most influential British artists of this century, and definitely one of my favourites. Florence and the Machine. Hopefully that's a name we'll continue to hear for 100 Years to come...