▲ Florence and the Machine’s first album, Lungs. Provided by florenceandthemachinefanclub.com.

As soon as the orchestral rock band made its debut, people could not help but fall prey to its fresh charm. As the harpist uses his fingers to air-pick a harp in the background, the lead singer stuns the audience with her compelling voice. The boundless energy and enthusiasm that the band offers are so great that the news about the lead singer’s bone injury on stage were took by no surprise, given that she always throws herself around the stage like a whirling dervish. Meet Florence and the Machine.

An English indie rock band, Florence and the Machine consists of lead singer Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Robert Ackroyd, drummer Chris Hayden, bassist Mark Saunders, and harpist Tom Monger. Since its debut, the band took the music industry by storm in the United Kingdom (UK) and in other parts of the world. All of their three albums, Lungs, Ceremonials, and How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, met with great success. The five 2016 Grammy Award nominations and countless awards the band has received are reasonable considering the fact that these albums were recorded as one of the year’s popular releases in the UK and reached top ranks on the Billboard 200.

The band is famous for its sensational performances and splendid stage management, but mostly for Welch’s vocal performances. Welch’s intriguing and mighty singing is present in the group’s second single, “Dog Days Are Over.” The song begins with the harpist playing the notes out from a harp and is soon joined by Welch’s soft and peaceful tone. When she sings her first “the dog days are over” part and bursts into a powerful chorus though, her calm and charming tone transforms into a thundering roar. Intense drum rolls and the strumming of guitars can also be heard in the background, creating an atmosphere filled with excitement for both performers and listeners.

▲ Florence and the Machine’s second album, Ceremonials. Providedbyamazon.co.uk.

The driving force behind Welch’s outrageously expressive voice comes from the hardships she went through as a young child. Even before Welch reached the age of 15, her parents got divorced and her maternal grandmother committed suicide. The overwhelming experiences led Welch to depend on music as a source to release all the frustrations within her. “I think that is why a lot of the songs can be angry or quite sad because there is a clarity in songwriting that I find quite difficult to express normally,” said Welch in an interview with the New Zealand Herald.

▲ Florence and the Machine’s third album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. Provided by timeout.com.

Welch once again sublimates her pain in “Ship to Wreck,” a second single from the How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. The song addresses the difficulties Welch has experienced during her career and her struggles with love and alcohol. Welch explained to Daily Life press that she has a self-destructive side to her: “I am fun up to a point, but sometimes I get so destructive that I end up breaking the thing I love the most.” The band skillfully manages to express her raw emotion through the lyrics, “Did I drink too much? Did I build a ship to wreck?” The lyrics become even more meaningful as the powerful guitar rips through the enchantingly beautiful opening of the song.

Interestingly enough, numerous listeners can identify with the songs even though they are personal. This is probably because the groups’ songs and lyrics are about universal human experiences that many people can empathize with. Therefore, listeners can expect a liberating experience by listening to the band’s music if they, too, share similar experiences as Welch or if they are in a bad mood. Welch’s tremendous voice and the band’s exciting beat will blow away all concerns in an instant.