After Bat For Lashes’ 2006 debut, FUR AND GOLD, comparisons abound to the likes of CocoRosie and Bjork, but with all due respect to these groundbreaking women, Natasha Khan (aka Bat) is in a league of ethereal transcendence all her own. TWO SUNS may very well position her as the second coming of Kate Bush, with a touch of This Mortal Coil’s gothic bliss, Portishead’s deep, mournful passion, and even OMD’s lushly paranoid electronics peeking in as influences. Whether swirling in a mass of gentle dream-pop on opener “Glass” or allowing her vocals to stand as naked as vintage Laura Nyro in front of ambient piano on “Moon And Moon,” Khan has put forth a remarkable sophomore effort, and signifies that she is a songwriter who will be talked about for generations to come.

Tracklisting
1. Glass
2. Sleep Alone
3. Moon And Moon
4. Daniel
5. Peace Of Mind
6. Siren Song
7. Pearl’s Dream
8. Good Love
9. Two Planets
10. Travelling Woman
11. Big Sleep, The

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.66) – 3.5 stars out of 5 — “Pounding on pianos, cranking out delicate little click-clack beats and shivering through choruses with an ultraromantic soprano, Khan proves she’s a powerhouse…”

Spin (p.76) – “Conjuring ancient tribal vibes from ominous synths and galloping tom-toms, this art-rock Joan of Arc gushes duality motifs that thwart narrative but overflow with moonstruck sensuality.”

Mojo (Publisher) (p.106) – 3 stars out of 5 — “‘Daniel,’ the album’s early single, is a seductive, motorik love song, purring of bassline, drowsy of melody and swooning of lyric, it’s pure Stevie Nicks circa RUMOURS.”

Blender (Magazine) – 3 stars out of 5 — “‘Sleep Alone’ is a folky dirge about the fear of solitude. ‘Daniel,’ a shimmering, unfussy new-wave track…”

Pitchfork (Website) – “A significant step forward from her debut, TWO SUNS is home to some of the year’s most thrilling music so far.”

Clash (magazine) (p.109) – “Like Kate Bush, Natasha Khan creates uncompromising, heartbreaking music in a singular, eerie landscape, and it’s just a joy that she lets us in.”

Record Collector (magazine) (p.88) – 4 stars out of 5 — “[I]t’s a concept album about the dual self….’Siren Song’ illustrates the concept perfectly, with its two distinct halves, and ‘The Big Sleep,’ a vaudevillian ‘Some Velvet Morning’ for the 00s, finds Scott Walker on call-and-response vocals.”

On her striking 2007 debut, FUR AND GOLD, British/Pakistani singer-songwriter Natasha Khan, aka Bat for Lashes, unveils a confident and eclectic set of indie-pop songs. Like a female counterpart to Irish Patrick Wolf, Khan gilds her tunes with lush, moody arrangements that heighten their drama and establish an ornate, goth-tinged atmosphere (see the urgent, harpsichord-led opening track, “Horse and I,” and “What’s a Girl to Do,” a haunting tale of heartbreak).

Recorded in London and Brighton, Natasha co-produced the album with David Kosten (Faultline). Recurrent themes of natural forces and animal kingdoms, rugged English cliff tops and engulfing oceans – highlighted on the lament ‘Seal Jubilee’, are juxtaposed by the energy of rough urban living, teenage bedrooms and the freedom of California highways. Josh T Pearson (Lift To Experience) guests, adding guitar and vocals on three tracks – the brooding live favorite ‘Trophy’, ‘Seal Jubilee’ and the finale ‘I Saw A Light’, adding the kind of hymns and chaos that only the son of a preacher could provide.

A fully formed first outing that garnered Khan a Mercury Prize nomination, FUR AND GOLD marks the arrival of a significant new U.K. talent, and will easily appeal to aficionados of emotive chamber-pop.

Professional Reviews
Entertainment Weekly (p.73) – “[H]er presence is undeniably bewitching….FUR is, indeed, gold.” — Grade: A-