10 Coolest Women In Music Right Now

3. Florence Welch - Florence and the Machine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am6rArVPip8 The fashion world seems to be in awe of Florence, and whilst she undoubtedly has sartorial coolness down to a tee, that's only a tiny fraction of what makes her so wonderful. All of the women featured here undoubtedly follow their own paths, but none do it as singularly as Florence does. She doesn't seem to have any contemporary musical, lyrical or stylistic reference points, if anything she looks and sounds like she could be releasing records in the 1920s, yet pulls off the amazing trick of being completely contemporary. Florence has a timeless nature that the boys in today's musical climate can only dream of competing with. Her ascent to greatness started with 'Dog days are over', a simplistic tale of happiness and fulfilment, and both of her subsequent albums, 'Lungs' and 'Ceremonials' have seen her go on to tell the story of the modern woman in the modern world of love and relationships. Florence would not for a second write something as prosaic as 'Sex on fire', she's a diarist of the spiritual nature of love and unashamedly uses inspiration from personal life to fuel her art. Florence is my tip to eventually inherit Kate Bush's crown, the ultimate eccentric who keeps belting out one classic after another, making music that is incredibly intimate yet which sounds huge at the same time. And let's not forget the power of that voice either, she can literally scream her head off and stay in tune, which is no mean feat. The best thing about Florence is that she gets better with every record and will have the world at her feet when she releases number three.