Looking at the cover of Two Suns, you can't really tell what you're in for. All you can estimate is that it might include a song or two about dying stars and that it's easy to get carried away when toying with photoshop. It doesn't encapsulate the music, but it does reasonably outline it: a colorfully menacing melange of electronic and acoustic production surrounding a warm yet somewhat detached voice. Regardless of their visual art goals, Bat for Lashes aim to create cathartic, penetrating music; and they hit the mark dead on.Much of album is filled with tension and uneasiness; a troubling sense that something malicious is lurking around the corner. Yet, it's almost a comfortable agitation, with singer Natasha Khan's breathy tenor gently guiding you through dark, unfriendly landscapes. Lead single "Daniel" perfectly balances this odd mash of dread and coziness, propelled along by a fitting 80s pop pastiche. Though this is intentionally dramatic music, it never touches on melodrama, which is why it is ultimately so effective and engrossing. The soft verses of "Siren Song" are spliced by an arresting, mountainous chorus, which may have sounded overdone in other, less-careful hands. And some songs are just downright pretty: the piano ballad "Moon and Moon" is quite touching. There is also a suitable, neo-tribal quality to some songs: first track "Glass" false starts with a lullaby before a thundering drum line builds suspense for the chorus. "Two Planets" is similarly pushed along by a tribal drum pulse. As for influences, it's hard not to think Bjork or Tori Amos when listening to Two Suns, but Khan has certainly found a voice and style of her own that is unique, not derivative. Besides, if any songwriter wants to make heart-stopping, cerebral music, tipping your hat to what amounts to female music royalty these days is not a bad idea at all.
"Daniel"
"Moon and Moon" live on BBC2's The Culture Show
No comments:
Post a Comment