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Florence + the Machine

Making her Houston debut, Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine has already emerged as one of the singular voices of her generation. When the London native, now 25, first appeared on most Americans' radar, it was in late 2008 with "Kiss with a Fist," a delightful garage-pop ditty about a nasty domestic squabble that had some critics seeing black and blue. It wasn't until Welch performed an altogether different song from her album Lungs, the lushly orchestrated and operatically sung "Dog Days Are Over," almost 18 months later on the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, that she really arrived in America. The success of follow-up Ceremonials last fall did nothing to dissuade those who see Welch as a latter-day Kate Bush or, seen through an even darker lens, a new Siouxsie Sioux. But Welch can easily now stand on her own, apart from even those giants.
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Chris Gray has been Music Editor for the Houston Press since 2008. He is the proud father of a Beatles-loving toddler named Oliver.
Contact: Chris Gray