Hailing from Britain, Bat For Lashes accolades have been noted by such music heavyweights as Thom Yorke of Radiohead and kooky Icelandic songstress Björk, and her sequel to 2007’s Fur and Gold is unlikely to dishearten any of the fans she has thus far culminated with her unique sound of atmospheric indie-folk.
Natasha Khan’s vocals flutter beautifully across each track, complementing the delicately sweet melodies composed from Bat for Lashes’ vast musical repertoire, from delicate piano pieces to ethereal autoharps and synthesizers. She describes her own music as focusing mostly on “high-charged emotion” and exploring the “beauty in the dark”; statements that ring true on stand-out numbers such as the hit “Daniel” which has been enjoying humble airplay on our island’s shores, and the anticipated release “Pearl’s Dream”. Both tracks lull the listener into a hypnotic state of blurred reality vs. fantasy, inducing a delicious and willing sonic delirium. “Good Love” commences with a church-organ and tiers with harmonising backing vocals punctuated with child-like rhythm and spacey, shoe-gazing synthesizers. Half-way through the song, Khan reverts to her obsession with the subconscious state as she narrates to us in a dream-like manner about disappearing magicians, burning houses and white magic caught in a black car’s blazing trail: surreal images that invade her sleep. Perhaps this is what a Magritte would sound like?
Bat for Lashes’ sophomore bid beckons you to follow Alice’s missteps down the rabbit hole and plunge into a celestial realm of symphonic escapism, synchronized with otherworldly tunes and enchanting refrains, offering an apt musical accompaniment to wallowing in a state of reverie. If artists among the ilk of Portishead and Blonde Redhead tickle your fancy, then consider it a crime that you haven’t yet discovered the beauty of Bat for Lashes.
