Bat for Lashes
Born: 1979
Location: Brent, London, England
Genre: Art Pop
Years Active: 2004 -
Real Name: Natasha Khan
Meaning of the Name: It combines something dark "bat" with something feminine "lashes"
Way of Working: Collaborates with producers
Essential Releases
Fur and Gold (2006)
Dreamy debut.
Two Suns (2009)
Soothing art pop that embraces the natural world.
The need to belong is primal because people outcast from a tribe wouldn't have survived the brutal realities of the Stone Age. Bat for Lashes' music taps into the same core drive that brings people together, in an almost mystical sense, by taking temporary respite from our individuality and coalescing into an audience with the shared purpose of experiencing sound.
Bat for Lashes has frequently described her delight at being captivated by crowds at sports events she attended as a child, her dad was a professional squash player.
Music has always held groups together. Whether it was in the caves, when people would gather and listen to the primitive melodies emitting from a bone flute as their shadows chased each other across the stones, or on the terraces, where football fans would sing the same songs their fathers sang before them, according to the predictable rhythms of the pitch.
At its best, Bat for Lashes' music reaches these same peaks by using the sound of nature and poetry to conjure a sense of community. Her albums are epics steeped in fables, legends, and myths, packed with rich lyrical imagery and narrative. On her atmospheric album Two Suns (2009), she inhabits dual manifestations of herself: the spiritual persona we are familiar with and Pearl, her narcissistic alter-ego, a fiery tempest hell-bent on destruction.
It's a work full of motifs, with a central theme of duality, which is the root of human storytelling. I've provided lyrics from the song 'Two Planets' to illustrate:
"Life is so much dark and light. Day can not exist without a night. And you should not separate from me. I have a heart that's full of life."
In Egyptian mythology, Osiris, the sun god, is murdered by Seth, the god of night, because the night conquers the day every 24 hours. Osiris is later reborn, as the sun always rises, and the cycle continues.Dualities such as day-night, light-dark, and good-evil, are deeply rooted in our societies because they allow us to think. For good to exist, its equal and opposite must also exist. Having a shared sense of these dualities, such as right and wrong, forms the moral codes, cohesive worlds, and sense of belonging that are vital to a social animal such as humans to thrive. Bat for Lashes seeks to touch these primal peaks of understanding with her music.
Skills
*This is a work in progress. Values are subjective.Emotional Impact
60
Mental Impact
75
Originality
75
Artistry
90
Authenticity
35
Live
70
Production
85
Musicianship
70
Singing
85
Songwriting
85
Danceability
65
Fun
60
Consistency
70
Range
80
Cool
70
Charisma
65
Commercial & Critical Success
Awards >>>
- Mercury Prize Nominee 2007: Fur and Gold
- Mercury Prize Nominee 2009: Two Suns
- Mercury Prize Nominee 2016: The Bride
Certifications >>>
- Gold: Fur and Gold (2006) in the UK
- Gold: Two Suns (2009) in the UK
- Silver: The Haunted Man (2012) in the UK
Charts >>>
- Two Suns (2009): Number 5 in UK
- The Haunted Man (2012): Number 6 in UK
Critics >>>
- Good Morning America - Lost Girls (2019) - Best Albums of the 2019: 1st
- Slant Magazine - The Haunted Man (2012) - Best Albums of the 2012: 4th
- Spin Magazine - The Haunted Man (2012) - Best Albums of the 2012: 6th
- Under the Radar - The Haunted Man (2012) - Best Albums of the 2012: 4th
CRITICISM
- Some people find Bat for Lashes too abstract to emotionally invest in. They find the artistic concepts don't connect with them and even accuse her of singing about things she doesn't feel or believe.
