Bat for Lashes
The Bride

A couple in love, a wedding ceremony about to be officiated, with all the whirlwind of emotions that such an event carries, a young woman ready to embrace happiness from that moment until the end of her days, and a dark omen, a horrible premonition that rushes in to spoil what should be a moment of joy and serenity, casting a shadow of anguish and concern over the girl and her partner. A shadow that manifests on the very day of the wedding, when the groom is involved in a fatal car accident, losing his life and throwing his widow into a state of torment and despair, marking the beginning of a painful inner and outer journey from which she will ultimately emerge victorious. No longer the same as before, certainly, but still victorious. These are the premises of the concept around which Natasha Khan's latest project unfolds, returning to release music under the pseudonym Bat for Lashes four years after "The Haunted Man" and less than a year after the project Sexwitch (a band formed together with the English TOY).

A concept that is dissected and analyzed in anything but a trivial way through inspired and never cloying lyrics, among esoteric prayers (the whispered “Widow’s Peak”) and masochistic solo honeymoons (“Honeymooning Alone”) immersed in atmospheres halfway between the group's typical mysticism and a western on which Tarantino has heavily imposed his touch. Noteworthy are also Khan's interpretation, here at her vocal peak, and her compositional flair, which allows her to effortlessly craft an incredibly cohesive and solid album, where the music and the story that inspired it go hand in hand, without one overshadowing the other, in an emotional crescendo that engages from the beginning to the end of the work. Certainly, at times one feels the absence of some more memorable pieces, the “Laura” or the “Daniel” of the turn, especially in the second part of the work, which puts aside pop (which still peeks through in “In God’s House” and “Sunday Love”, perfect demonstration of how good Natasha is at writing songs that are catchy in their own way) to dive into a contemplative mood with stretched rhythms, halfway between Joni Mitchell's “Blue” and Kate Bush's “Aerial”; not that this is necessarily a flaw, actually the need to listen to certain pieces multiple times to fully understand them only enhances their value (“If I Knew” and “I Will Love Again”, in particular, are remarkably notable), but not everyone might appreciate it.

This does not detract from "The Bride" being an intense and in its own way important album, remarkable as a whole and capable of emotional peaks of great intensity. Is it the definitive consecration of Bat for Lashes? Hard to say, very likely yes, but what is certain is that their latest album, though of excellent craftsmanship, is not their masterpiece: that is yet to be created and if their artistic growth continues on the path followed so far, it will certainly not be long in coming.