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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

Dummy

Fur and Gold (2006)

Dreamy debut.

Album Title 2

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 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 Two Suns, 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. In Egyptian mythology, for example, Osiris, the sun, is murdered by Seth, the 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, 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. 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

i Does it connect with the heart? What does it make you feel and how much of it?
60

Mental Impact

i Does it connect with the head? Social issues, interesting observations, clever lyrics, similies etc.
75

Originality

i Are they unique? Did they break new ground, use new techniques or create new genres.
75

Artistry

i Using creativity and imagination to present themselves in a unique way. Example, Wu-Tang Clan as Shaolin and Marvel characters etc.
90

Authenticity

i Do they really mean what they say? Is it autobiographical, personal?
35

Live

i Stage presence, working the crowd, performance. Miming, forgetting lyrics reduce this.
70

Production

i Studio techniques. More important for electronic music including hip hop.
85

Musicianship

i Their ability to play individually and as a group. Technical skills. DJing. Freestyling for hip hop.
70

Singing

i Technical attributes.
85

Songwriting

i Storytelling. Cohesive themes. Is the song about something? Stan by Eminem is an example of excellent songwriting.
85

Danceability

i Does it make you move? Do you tap your foot, nod your head or move your whole body?
65

Fun

i Is listening to it a good time? Are the lyrics funny? Depressing themes lowers value.
60

Consistency

i Have they put out good music across their careers. Two good albums and 5 band ones will reduce this value.
70

Range

i Fast, slow, ballads, party jams. Do they go beyond their own genre?
80

Cool

i Laid-back, icy detachment, unflustered.
70

Charisma

i Factors include appearance, force of personality. Elvis making people faint etc.
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 UK
  • Gold: Two Suns (2009) in UK
  • Silver: The Haunted Man (2012) in UK

Charts >>>

  • Two Suns (2009): #5 in UK
  • The Haunted Man (2012): #6 in UK

Critics >>>

  • Good Morning America - Lost Girls (2019) - Best Albums of the 2019: #1
  • Slant Magazine - The Haunted Man (2012) - Best Albums of the 2012: #4
  • Spin Magazine - The Haunted Man (2012) - Best Albums of the 2012: #6
  • Under the Radar - The Haunted Man (2012) - Best Albums of the 2012: #4


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.


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