TomJones 
Tunng have too often been labelled with a four-letter word beginning with F. I won’t use it here, now, because Tunng are escaping the confines of this appellation. The longer this band keeps going, the farther it drifts away from the word; now it seems they have come far enough to see the sunny shores of electronica. Although Tunng have always been dabblers in electronic music, in ‘… And Then We Saw Land’ we can see a superslick maturity to their production. Tracks like the instrumental ‘By Dusk They Were In The City’ are notable for their meticulous soundscapes, and the forthcoming single ‘Hustle’ glistens under guitarist/producer Mike Lindsay’s mature guidance. ‘… And Then We Saw Land’ has a stripped-down finesse about it. Some tracks are minimal in the extreme – ‘These Winds’ is almost an acappella, save for some scant percussion. However, despite all this, despite the glitchy production wizardry, despite the album’s lovely subtleties, too often Tunng return to that word, that four-letter word that has a declining place this side of the 20th century: Folk.
Marketable yet quirky, the next in a long and forgettable line of performers, young kids sold a template of tender genius; the ‘troubled songwriter’ gimmick. This was how Florence + The Machine and their debut album, ‘Lungs’ first comes across. A shiny new ‘Hounds of Love’ for the 21st century, released on a respected ‘independent’ record label. However, Florence + The Machine are not deserving of being subjected to such ruthless categorisation. Have we truly become so cynical that music’s redemptive magic has simply atrophied and dropped off? Doesn’t anybody have an honest opinion any more? So let’s be honest. We at least owe Florence Welch that; because if nothing else, her lyrics are honest. ‘Lungs’ documents a turbulent (though temporary) break-up with Welch’s boyfriend. And for all that this might be standard pop lyric material, a touch of the macabre is injected into the Kate Bush-tinged ultrapop with lyrics like ‘Kiss With A Fist’s ‘you broke my leg with your touch/ sit back and watch the bed burn.’ It’s this dark streak of honesty that transforms ‘Lungs’ from what might have been a catchy (though emotionally sterile) ‘indie pop-rock’ album into something of substance.
