Bat For Lashes: Two Suns (Album Review)

Koolmuzone launched Natasha Khan (Bat For Lashes) earlier on 23rd Feb 09. We are glad to see her featured in today’s edition of Dawn Images

Though Two Suns at times flirts playfully with more accessible melodies and structures (Travelling Woman), after multiple listens it’s obvious that it’s a consciously chosen direction rather than one arrived at after consideration of other things, namely commercialism.

By Asfandyar Khan

Natasha Khan aka Bat for Lashes’ second album was released early last month

Hailing from Brighton, England, Natasha Khan (who records under the moniker Bat For Lashes — a vehicle primarily hers despite contributions from various musicians) seems like she’s longing for a world filled with fairies and pixies, a world of mystery and outrageous colours where varying personalities are taken and shelved with the blink of an eye. Her music, then, seems to evoke similar worlds of fantasy — balanced on gossamer and fluttering wings.

With 2006’s Fur and Gold, Natasha Khan went about on this celestial musical journey echoing the likes of Bowie and Bjork, with a voice and phrasing that recalled the best of Kate Bush to mind. Though the album had its flaws, it was a statement of Natasha Khan’s talent. It was no surprise then that a fair amount of excitement was starting to form at the prospect of her new release, spurred on undoubtedly by promotional releases, blogs and live performances of songs from her new album — a Mercury nomination for Fur and Gold probably helped as well, putting her on the radar for many listeners and critics.

With Two Suns, it doesn’t take long for Khan to fall into her little world as the echo-driven, turbulent beats of Glass pave the way for her lilting melodies. It’s as arresting an album opener as you’re likely to hear all year, and ensures that the listener is strapped in for what’s coming. It’s also no coincidence that Khan throws up the complete opposite of Glass next, as Sleep Alone offers sonic overflow with pure ’80s synths, bordering at times on both the ethereal and the dance-y.

Moon and Moon again offers to take things in a different direction by effortlessly slowing things down. Built on simple but thoroughly effective melancholy piano, it allows Khan’s vocal ability to shine with restraint amidst a clamour for attention. The chorus is magnificent as she pines: “Calling moon and moon/shoot that big bad hand/it’ll track me to your door/and I won’t see you no more.” If Moon and Moon wasn’t good enough for you to hit that repeat button, what follows is probably one of the best singles of the year. Daniel builds up slowly to a marching beat, displaying a keenness for ’80s electro-pop, only to heat things up with an astonishing chorus.

Pearl’s Dream offers up a disturbingly swanky bass line coupled with new wave percussion and effect-laden vocals (not auto-tune, thankfully), with Khan’s voice turning things up a notch (and an octave) in the chorus. It twists and turns throughout, shedding worn-out clothes with nonchalance. Pearl’s Dream’s predecessor, Siren Song, is a volatile mass of chambered voices and piano building up to a magnificent click-drum accentuated climax.

Khan then dons a storytelling mask for the verses of Good Love, only to slide it off for the chorus, where she’s overpowered softly by the synths. Travelling Woman has Khan resorting ably to contemporary singer-songwriter territory — where she makes good use of her voice strung along by a steady drum beat and punctuated piano chords.

And just as you thought you might’ve heard everything in Khan’s arsenal, you’re in for the biggest surprise of the lot. Album closer The Big Sleep is a duet with uber-talented musician and mentalist (if you don’t get the creeps listening to The Drift, you are made of superior stuff) Scott Walker. A sparse song consisting only of Khan and Walker’s magnificent baritone coupled with a quiet (but fuzzy) bass as well as selected piano, it’s a proper showcase of Khan’s vocal abilities. She manages to hold her own spectacularly against Walker, only to then do one over him by switching up a couple of octaves without warning. Her voice here is both frail and angelic; a wonderfully pertinent representation of the overall drama the song itself is drowning in.

The acclaim and the attention Fur and Gold garnered had the potential of working against Khan. It brought skyrocketing expectations, with people wondering what direction her next album would take. Though Two Suns at times flirts playfully with more accessible melodies and structures (Travelling Woman), after multiple listens it’s obvious that it’s a consciously chosen direction rather than one arrived at after consideration of other things, namely commercialism. Even when things do teeter towards blatant accessibility, there are always layers underneath and newer things coming to the fore with every listen. Furthermore, the emotions that unravel subtly and softly in songs like Moon and Moon are indicative of Khan’s honesty as an artiste.

It’s not often that musicians try to weave together different worlds, atmospheres and ideas. It’s even rarer to see everything meld perfectly — one giant construct homogenous yet devoid of it upon closer inspection. Khan has to be complimented here not just for her prodigious talents, but for her mentality and broader approach to music. Fur and Gold, as weird and as wonderful as it was, has been bested by a beast of an album. Two Suns is what so many hope to achieve — an album that screams experimentation but has a sense of mature melody while retaining the essence of its creator without compromise.

You can download her songs from here

Source: DAWN.COM | Images