Bat for Lashes
Fur and Gold

THE REVIEW

I saw a light, I saw a light among the trees and my things falling into place; finally. That dark light that illuminates a betrayed and suffocated life, now everything is clearer. A light hidden in the back of a car, of suicidal lovers. Elusive and painful, it feeds on death. In your arms, and love closes its doors and turns into an impenetrable, unique memory. While children sleep, and the night is day, I saw a light growing smaller in the distance: a farewell, and the chosen and accomplice custodian forest. Then I followed Sarah and Prescilla along the path of images and pagan rituals, invoked the long-awaited arrival of the wizard with a propitiatory dance ("..the wizard comes, wants to feel you shake and shooting! He will be our leader.."), in a cold and dark cave sheltered from the rational everyday life that belongs to us (but not from unexpected elements foreign to us, unknown) a symphony of bats and bat's mouth filled my soul with terror and screams and, finally, paid homage to the creatures of the deep ocean; a jubilee of whales roaming the solitary sea, sharks lords of the abyss and the cry of seals. "Fur and gold", fur and gold; union of elements, of ancient and modern decorations by the Anglo-Pakistani Natasha Khan.

A name and a project, Bat For Lashes, that calls to mind archetypal fairy tales, witchcraft, and creatures of the night. A voice, that of the multi-instrumentalist songwriter from Brighton, between the ancestral lullaby of Bjork and the broken and warm whisper of a Cat Power. A sound that shapes, molds different and noble references: "Human Behaviour", the esoteric Kate Bush of "Under ice" and the piano confessions of the young Tori Amos (in the poignant ballad "Sad eyes"). Frenetic handclaps, harps and rubbed strings, guitars (and vox by Josh T. Pearson of Lift To Experience in three tracks), minimal electronics, and harpsichord graft onto arcane melodic structures in an imagery that from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm (the splendid opening madrigal of "Horse and I", a true coup de foudre for a certain Thom Yorke...) can reach the mystery and surprise of contact with supernatural, magical forces of an 80s adventure like Spielberg's "E.T.". True magic, indeed, is what animates the single "What's a girl to do": an exhilarating cross between old school hip-hop beats and Prince's era "1999", Spectorian drums, and choruses reminiscent of the ancient rites of famous witches like Siouxsie or, indeed, Bush (close to Natasha's sensibility also for a shared vision of her own art: choreographic, visual, and graphic). But it’s not the only precious gem. Nervous handclapping, spectral voices, and the pulsating bass introduce the shadowy "Trophy"; circular harps, the childlike timbre of the little Icelander, and delicate piano notes mark the nocturnal dream in "Tahiti". The ghost of Nico, her diaphanous figure, is glimpsed in the gothic castle of the mesmerizing "Seal jubilee", a percussive rhythm pervades the insidious melody of "Prescilla". And the highly evocative and restless katebushian finale of "I saw a light" makes Khan's talent definitive and concrete. A memorable debut.

"Got woken in the night by a mystic golden light. My head soaked in river water. I had been dressed in a coat of armor. They called a horse out of the woodland. "Take her there, through the desert shores. They sang to me "This is yours to wear. You're the chosen one, there's no turning back now" - There is no turning back. There is no turn..." -These sad eyes, the fears that I will carry with me into the forest. Don't wait for me, don't ask why the autumn wind still blows over the leaves abandoned by the loneliness of the trees. Time does not leave too much space for unsaid things, girl. I'm always waiting for a signal, a promise from the lady of the road: something that can feed the enchantment, and see you luminous among the stars. I'm looking for a reason, a mask to wear to show you my tired smile. Far away. Fragile. I lost your face among thousands, I left your icy hand for long years. Forgive me, sweet creature with the immaculate gaze. Forgive this artificial smile, which cannot hide the sadness that burns within.

"I don't like the things you don't say. Leaving it for such a long long time. Why do you show me those sad sad eyes. Each time you decide to pass on by. And when you smile those sad eyes, look sadder and sadder still..."