Bat For Lashes "Two Suns"
Poslato: 24 Maj 2009, 00:22
Bat For Lashes is back with not just a new album, Two Suns, but a whole new alter ego. But Natasha Khan, the girl behind the mask, has spent too long creating a second on-stage persona (beat that Beyonce). All this silliness does is draw away from the music – because this highly anticipated album contains as many misses as it does hits.
They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover – which is fortunate seeing as this one shows Khan in enough body paint to sink a battleship, surrounded by candles, moons and a crown of thorny stars. But you'd expect nothing less from a girl who appeared on the cover of Fader wearing a wolf mask as a beret.
There are some highs – amongst them Daniel, an obvious choice for first single with its oh-so-now synth-drenched melody and soaring vocals. Sleep Alone is an anthem for the lonely with high pitched vocals against a throbbing bassline. And Pearl's Dream is stylish, ominous and insistent. Maybe the creation of that second alter ego gave her the boost she needed. Dare we suggest she should have tried it on the following misses?
Glass, the track which gives the album its title, is like messy, unfinished Bjork. Piece Of Mind is all over the place, totally squandering the very good choir backing her. Good Love is heavy and labouring and Two Planets makes her sound like Annie Lennox's twin. While the latter is undoubtedly a diva, she's not exactly dripping with cutting edge cool.
The album closer says it all – Scott Walker duet The Big Sleep invites the listener to do just that; it's practically coma inducing. With La Roux, Florence and the Machine, Lady Gaga and Little Boots all clamouring for the quirky solo female slot, Two Suns sees Khan fail to make the grade in a somewhat oversaturated market. Overall it's disappointing stuff from a former Mercury Prize nominee.
"Daniel" is the first single from Two Suns. The song was announced as the lead single from Two Suns in January 2009. The track was written by Natasha Khan and produced by David Kosten, as with all tracks on the album. Khan said in an interview with The Sun newspaper that Daniel was based on a fictional character that she fell in love with as a teenager. The single's cover features Khan with an image of the character Daniel LaRusso, from the film The Karate Kid, painted on her back. A character much like LaRusso also features at the end of the music video which goes with the song.
"Daniel" (video)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00ZHah-c ... re=related[/youtube]
"Daniel" (live on Later with Jools Holland)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsrCB_H- ... re=related[/youtube]
"Daniel" remix (live on E4 Fresh Saturday)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1j6VKzH ... re=related[/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]
Digital Spy said that "Is probably the most immediate thing Natasha Khan has recorded. Both synthy and mystical-sounding, and filled with poetic lyrics about "marble movie skies" and "the smell of cinders and rain," it could almost pass for a lost Stevie Nicks track from the early eighties. Khan's velvety voice, meanwhile, remains as enchanting as ever, so here's hoping a few more people get to hear it". NME said "relives ghostly memories of her first love and sounds like Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rhiannon’ filtered through the weeping circuits of a broken-hearted android". Gigwise said "a poppy work of kosmik disko à la Empire Of The Sun as a sexy working of electric violin and vocal overdubs are strapped to the beats and bones of a mythic love song". Pitchfork Media likewise gave it a highly positive reception, awarding the single 9/10, describing the vocals in the song as "alternately commanding and fragile" and describing the song as "her Running Up That Hill".
My favorites:
"Daniel"+
"Pearl's Dream"
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"Sleep Alone" (live on Later with Jools Holland)
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"Moon and Moon" (live on The Culture Show)
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"Good Love"
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"Siren Song"
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Daniel 
