2006 release from this mature Gothic outfit. Bat For Lashes is the creation of Natasha Khan, a Pakistan-born, Brighton based songwriter. Her concept for Fur And Gold was to make something that started at dusk and finished up in the glorious sunlight. That gives you an idea of what this ethereal, cinematic album sounds like. Natasha's soaring howls, whispers and joyous singing are the main focus here. As beguiling as Bjork, as stunning as Sinead O'Connor and as dramatic as Kate Bush, it is her voice that dominates. The often minimal backdrop of haunting strings, unusual percussive instruments and drum machines provides the perfect accompaniment. Mature gothic sounds for those willing to be whisked off to beautiful faraway lands.
Bat for Lashes (or Natasha Khan as she’s otherwise known) is the shiest singer I’ve ever seen. I first stumbled across her as the support act at a gig in March where she was barely able to whisper or look up from her piano throughout, gold makeup and headband only enhancing the air of strange fragility. But with two similarly timid band mates offering only minimal backing (largely handclaps and viola), she silenced the room with songs of an intensity way beyond the expectations of what her brand of twee-folk would have you imagine could. By all accounts it’s a trick she’s often repeated since.
Khan’s music is usually quite bare and doesn’t stray too far from regular song structures but is still rarely straightforward, full of unusual sounds and ambiguous meaning. There are some hints of Kate Bush and particularly Bjork here, “Bat’s Mouth” is most obviously like the latter, working itself up to an extended, ecstatic whoop of joy set to music. Khan’s vocals share much of Bjork’s naive otherworldliness throughout as well, if not quite the elastic emotional range. But looking past the inevitable female singer-songwriter comparisons, there are closer kindred spirits. Fur And Gold’s galloping, commanding opener “Horse And I” is a less harsh cousin to Patrick Wolf’s “The Libertine.”
It’s a world that is crackling with magic, mystical and antiquated (when “I Saw a Light” comes across a dead couple in the back of a car, it’s probably the vehicle that’s the bigger surprise) but still full of life and danger. The sound is one of dark nights alone in the forest and days in junkshops looking for weird old instruments. Fur and Gold is admittedly not as strong and cohesive a record as Wind in the Wires. At its finest, though, it does show off a rare talent for haunting and evocative songwriting.
Single “The Wizard” best captures the sinister side of her sound, a nervous shuffle backing breathless repetitions of “the wizard comes” before a wobbly keyboard chorus and the line that lends it its startling power: “drink his blood and he’s our leader.” “Sarah” also gets beautifully evil, Khan plus ghostly backing singers telling us that “they cut out her heart when she was a little girl” before deciding to take over her life for the sake of it anyway. And rare break from the wilderness “What’s a Girl to Do?” is fantastic fun, built from ominous booms and harp over which Khan’s perfectly enunciated spoken verses detail her unhappiness with her lover in the most disdainful of tones. When she comes to sing the title question in mock exasperation, it’s with a deliciously assured sense that she already knows the answer. And what’s not to love about lines like “when your dreams are on a train to train-wreck town”? So while not yet the complete article, with songs like these Bat for Lashes may yet have reason to be much more confident.
Bat For Lashes
Fur & Gold
[She Bear / Echo; 2006]
Rating: 6.5
Think "bat" as in both the flirty verb and the gothy noun. Fur & Gold is often a dark and atmospheric record, but it remains playful and self-aware enough to pull back every time it inches towards self-parody. Largely structured around the vocals of the Pakistani-born Brit Natasha Khan, Fur & Gold shows a band quite good at giving their songs room to breathe and evolve, allowing the songs to expand out before snapping back into focus on Khan's expressive voice.
Opener "Horse and I" skirts Renaissance Faire silliness, but proves musically intriguing enough to push past any hokey aesthetic choices. Yes, Khan can come off as a bit dramatic, but her best songs fit the part. "Trophy" is perhaps the album's finest track, plodding along elegantly like a darker and slicker Lavender Diamond. "Tahiti" is the sonic standout, but suffers from some jarringly awkward phrasing in its chorus. "Sad Eyes" never quite fulfills the emotional potential generated by Khan's voice and some sparse piano chords, and it also illustrates a wider point: Uncomplicated and vaguely mystical lyrics generally make sense here, but Khan occasionally sings like she's not really sure what she's saying. An unexpected "Come and spend the night" halfway through "Sad Eyes" might as well be "I'd like a burrito."
Many of the album's biggest disappointments come simply because the band's potential is so palpable, especially during more restrained and focused moments. But as strong as Fur & Gold's individual tracks can be, the record as a whole is frustratingly dilute. While Khan has a real talent for edging towards emotional extremes, she seems to get lost in atmosphere. And ultimately, Fur & Gold sounds a little bit too comfortable for its own good. Khan is a great singer, and her band is undoubtedly competent and capable, but the record sounds like it wants to be more than it is. Khan stops just short of the boldness that can make this kind of record great-- imagine Bjork wearing a fur coat rather than a dead swan or Siouxsie Sioux wearing a peasant dress rather than a Nazi uniform. Bat For Lashes dip their feet in some difficult waters, but often seem too preoccupied with their reflection to jump in.
-Matt LeMay, February 08, 2007
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