FLORENCE & THE MACHINE Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Florence Welch's globe-straddlingly successful epic-pop project has made its name largely through no-holds-barred emotion and rapturous melodrama, and although this third album has largely been trumpeted as a return to a more stripped-down and less over-the-top approach, long-term fans of the couture-clad siren needn't worry too much. 'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful' remains true to her heart-on-sleeve approach and the cinematic splendour she's made her trademark. Crucially, even beneath the orchestral arrangements and the life-or-death vocal declamations, the songs on this record shone through as memorable and emotive enough to withstand the level of ornamentation around them, and fit to have Florence's fearsome pipes send them skyward.

Review: Florence and the Machine's chart-topping Mercury Prize-nominated debut album Lungs turned the London group led by Florence Welch into global superstars. Just months prior to its release in summer 2009 they were still on ones to watch tours playing first on behind the likes of White Lies and Friendly Fires. But that was all to change with their Island Records release Lungs. The album produced by a slew of cool producers, including James Ford and Paul Epworth, gave the world 'Kiss With A Fist', 'Dog Days Are Over' and - the biggest of all - 'You've Got The Love'. It will have been a huge investment for the label, but it's paid off and then some, going six-times-platinum in the U.K. Given it's shaped the life of the band, it's a record that they are keen on revisiting and the latest feature on it is this symphony version. This new release is the group's triumphant performance of the album in full at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Orchestra conducted by Grammy-winning Jules Buckley. This is bucket list stuff for any musician and indicative of the fact that Florence is one of the most enduring artists to have formed in the U.K. this century.