The hype surrounding ‘Bat For Lashes’’ new album, The Haunted Man, is undoubtedly not simply down to the quality of the music. On the cover of the album, the band’s Natasha Khan stands entirely naked, a naked man enwrapping her in a fireman’s lift, showing her delicate yet strong frame to the world.
Perhaps this image is indicative of the new ‘Bat For Lashes’, stripped down to something more natural, strong and real. Certainly there is a sense of this in the music: Khan’s swirling melodies and hippy vibes seen in the last album permeate the entire tracklisting, but there is a more pared back feeling, Khan’s vocals having come on leaps and bounds since her last record.
There are also more melancholic undertones that layer the tracks, perhaps suggesting a desire to be more serious with her musical endeavours, and create something beautiful and less ‘poppy’, something which perhaps could be said of Fur and Gold.
The stand-out track of the album is undoubtedly ‘Laura’. The vocal talents of Khan are fully put on display here, the twirling and melancholic melody producing something truly beautiful. Despite this, the rest of the album does not live up to the calibre of ‘Laura’. The general feeling of the tracks are similar to that of this song, but they just miss out on capturing the same sort of magic.
There are others which are well worth a listen: ‘Horses of the Sun’ provides an interesting percussive section and ‘The Haunted Man’ has an interesting set of lyrics which encompass the whole feeling of the album.
The tricky third album has been well tackled by ‘Bat For Lashes’ considering her second album was largely brushed over by critics and fans. ‘Laura’ is a truly accomplished song and will surely get the radio-play it deserves. However, the shaky quality of a few of her other songs begs the question of whether Natasha Khan will keep making music like this for much longer.