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Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British...MORE>>

What can I say about Florence and the Machine that has not already been said? 22-year-old Londoner Florence Welch and her band come pre-approved by both the BBC and the bearded musos in charge of the 2009 Brit Awards. The former has named the band one of their Sounds of 2009, and the latter has bestowed upon them the Critics’ Choice Award. Need I say more?

But let’s forget the rapidly snowballing hype for a minute. I am sure you don’t really need to be told about Florence Welch. Rack your brains. She is that charming, stylish, auburn-haired lass you’ve seen about, the one blessed with a serious set of pipes and the power to out-quirk anybody within a five-mile radius.

And you must have heard Kiss With A Fist. It’s that rabble-rousing punk-tinged belter of a track that infamously uses livid, violent metaphors to describe a relationship. Is it really about domestic

violence? I think it was played over an advert for some achingly cool Channel 4 programme at one point.  

The funny thing about Kiss With A Fist is that it sounds very familiar. I can imagine it being sung by Blondie. It uses a lot of repetition and has a simple structure, but it’s such an effortlessly brilliant song that you feel it must have been around for ages. When I first heard it I was convinced that it was a cover. That’s how good it is.

The song opens with Florence biting out the first line of the song solo, her voice dripping with sulky, unrepentant malice. Then the guitars kick in, driven forward by the steady thump of the bass drum and a funny clicking noise, which could be drumsticks tapping against each other, or some other exotic instrument I have not heard of.

In places, the lyrics are delivered with emphasised consonants, echoing the sounds you might associate with being slapped around. It’s poetry. Elsewhere Florence lets rip that huge, rich, soulful voice, and you find yourself thinking, ‘yeah, maybe a kiss with a fist is better than none.’ If somebody pitched this song to you, you would probably laugh in their face, but for the two minutes the track is playing its tit-for-tat playground logic is sexy and enthralling.

     The talent of Florence and her ever-willing Machines is only now being given the recognition it deserves, and with their debut album being released in May of this year, I can only hope that the huge promise shown on this single is a sign of things to come.