'' Lungs '' received generally positive reviews from music critics . At Metacritic , which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications , the album received an average score of 79 , based on 22 reviews . James Christopher Monger of AllMusic praised it as " one of the most musically mature and emotionally mesmerizing albums of 2009 " and stated , " With an arsenal of weaponry that included the daring musicality of Kate Bush , the fearless delivery of Sinéad O'Connor , and the dark , unhinged vulnerability of Fiona Apple , the London native crafted a debut that not only lived up to the machine-gun spray of buzz that heralded her arrival , but easily surpassed it . " Ryan Dombal wrote for '' Pitchfork '' that Florence Welch " bursts mouth wide wide over garage rock , epic soul , pint-tipping Britbeat , and — best of all — a mystic brand of pop that 's part Annie Lennox , Grace Slick , and Joanna Newsom . " '' Q '' noted that " there 's a lot going on , but Welch never confuses breadth with depth " . '' Entertainment Weekly '' s Joseph Brannigan Lynch opined that Welch 's " immaculately constructed indie pop recalls Regina Spektor , but without the studied artiness : Welch is more concerned with raw emotional release . " '' Spin '' s Melissa Maerz stated , " From the way she sings , in big gulps and '' Teen Wolf '' growls , to the mystical art-rock ballads she bedazzles with sleigh bells , harps , and choirs , there 's enough drama here for a Broadway musical . But her delivery is so raw that every mess feels genuine . " '' Rolling Stone '' s Jon Dolan expressed that " t he best bits feel like being chased through a moonless night by a sexy moor witch . " '' Slant Magazine '' s Nick Day referred to the band 's music as " particularly sensitive to studio gloss " and praised Welch 's singing as " a fine balance between elegance and frenzy . " In a review for '' The Guardian '' , Dave Simpson viewed that Welch " has created a sonic labyrinth of xylophones , percussion , Gregorian chants and werewolves . It can sound affected , occasionally crass , but there 's enough adventure to make this worth backing for the Mercury . " Jamie Fullerton of '' NME '' commended the work of producers James Ford and Paul Epworth , writing that they " create epic cauldron-swirls of '' Terminator '' - theme drums , Massive Attack atmospherics and twinkle-eye harp matched by Florence 's grappling of skyward choruses " , but found that " with the likes of ' I 'm Not Calling You A Liar ' and ' Howl ' boasting similarly windy production yet no identifiable tunes the results sound aimless — if harmless . " Genevieve Koski of '' The A.V. Club '' felt that " a t times , '' Lungs '' borders on exhausting , careening as it does from one over-the-top track to the next . ... But with a voice as strong and emotive as hers , it 's not surprising that Welch has little use for moments of quiet contemplation . " Despite criticising instances of " over-smoothed " production on certain tracks , '' The Observer '' s Sheryl Garratt concluded that " there 's a real joy about this debut . It 's the sound of someone who has found their voice and is keen to use it – as loudly and freely as possible . " '' Lungs '' was shortlisted for the 2009 Mercury Prize . The following year , the album won the MasterCard British Album award at the Brit Awards
Brit Awards
2010 Brit Awards
Lungs (album)