Customer Reviews

Fur & Gold

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bat for Lashes is the one-woman band of Natasha Khan, a UK singer song-writer of Pakistani origin. If you aren't familiar with her sound, imagine Bjork meets Joanna Newsom meets Kate Bush with a splash of Dido even. I'm not entirely sure where I found out about this, it's either my 17 yr old daughter or internet-only station WOXY, but no matter, you are in for a delight.

"Fur and Gold" (11 tracks, plus 1 bonus track; 49 min.) is the debut album of Bat for Lashes. The opener "Horse and I" is a harpsichord-and-drums driven song, setting the table. "Trophy" is a quiet but threatening song with the ever-returning line "Heaven is a feeling I get in your arms", just beautiful. "What's A Girl To Do" (2nd UK single) is one of the more 'upbeat' tracks on the album. "Sad Eyes" is a beautiful piano ballad. "Prescilla" (1st UK single) is the most immediately accessible track of the album. "Bat's Mouth" is another slow-burner, with lush violins. It all leads up to the last track of the regular album, a 7 min. haunting "I Saw a Light". The bonus track is a (single B-side) cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire", and a textbook example of how a cover should be done: completely reinterpreted yet recognisible, just perfect.

This album was originally released in the UK a year ago and is now, slowly, finding an audience in the US. Natasha Khan is a talent to be watched. I have been completely mesmorized by "Fur and Gold". This is not an album you'll play in a hurry. Relax, settle in, and play this. I bet you'll be mesmorized too.

Imagine walking through a forest flooded by golden light, full of mystery and magic, and the sorrow of things that are fading away.

That's sort of the atmosphere of "Fur and Gold," the debut album by Bat For Lashes. The Brighton band -- really a one-woman band for Natasha Khan -- churns out a stream of shimmering, dark, fantastical chamberpop that sounds like the halfway point between Feist and Joanna Newsom.

It opens with the dreamlike "Horse and I," with its throbs of harpsichord and marching military drums (a Jeanne D'Arc influence?). "Got woken in the night/by a mystic golden light/My head soaked in river water," Khan murmurs, sounding both desperate and sleepy. "The smell of redwood giants/A banquet for the shadows/Horse and I, we're dancers in the dark/Came upon the headdress/It was gilded, dark and golden..."

It rises into a desperate plea, as "The children sang/I was so afraid I took it to my head and prayed/They sang to me, "This is yours to wear/You're the chosen one, there's no turning back." The song swells and falls, with Khan murmurs painfully, "There is no turning back/there is no turn..."

Khan does try out some more conventional songs, like the "What's A Girl To Do," a dramatic lament about a fizzled-out affair. But even then, she includes some unique phrases ("And my bat lightning heart/Wants to fly away"). And then there's "Sad Eyes," a painfully loving post-breakup song ("Keep my love as light as a feather").

Then she regains some of that more magical sound, with songs about powerful wizards, black snow, beautiful wild girls who die or grow up, centaurs, haunted forests. It finishes with the exquisite "I Saw A Light," a piano ballad that briefly swells up into a musical storm.... right before Khan says softly, "And I said goodbye."

The music industry doesn't turn out much music like this -- pop music that relies on sensual instrumentation and brilliant songwriting, rather than jiggle or computerized vocals. Fantastical forests and seas, tropical islands, lovelorn urbanites, and magical horses all somehow weave into this -- it's like a long, beautiful dream.

It also has pretty unique instrumentation -- much of it is harpsichord and strings, but there's also plenty of military-style drums, cymbals, some mellow electric guitar, trumpet in places, and a shimmer of autoharp. Khan weaves the sounds together expertly into a dark, lush, velvety tapestry that sounds like the work of a longtime professional.

And somehow it doesn't seem surprising that her vocals fit in perfectly -- she can do husky, soaring, a childlike singsong, or the half-spoken chant of "What's A Girl To Do?", where she seems to be almost conversing with the listener. Often she's backed by a ghostly, sensual chorale, which sounds like her own voice.

"Fur and Gold" is all darkness, gold, feathers and twilight -- a stunning, musically lush, lyrically exquisite pop album. Despite the odd name, Bat for Lashes has genius.

Great name for a band, so how is this debut album? In fact, Bat for Lashes is not really a band at all, but a one woman force of nature, accompanied by a number of other musicians.

Singer, writer and artist, Natasha Khan is certainly the lady who can. She has been compared to performers such as Kate Bush, Sinead O'Connor and Bjork. If these comparisons have any value at all, it may be because there is, for sure, something ethereal and otherworldly about Ms. Khan's sound and lyrics. A review on the 'band's' website said that this music could be the soundtrack for a Tim Burton film, and that seems to encapsulate the essence of the Bat for Lashes experience. At times, this music even recalls medieval chamber music. One could easily imagine this music being played at Harry Potter's debut dance in the Hogwarts' great hall.

This is a thoughtful, sensitive, highly original recording which only improves with repeated listening, and which doesn't contain a bad track. So even if you are not a Kate Bush or Sinead O'Connor fan and even if you are scared of things that go bump in the night, there is nothing to be afraid of here. On the contrary, it is really quite magical.

It's hard to find solid, cohesive albums nowadays, so I'm grateful to have come across "Fur & Gold". My favorite songs are "Trophy" and "Sarah". This is a good album to go to sleep to. I hope more people discover Bat For Lashes and I'm sorry this review doesn't do the album justice :)

That's right - nerd rock. Anything dropping lords, ladies and wizards into its lyrics this much deserves such a classification. That being said - I love it. The arrangements are original, incorporating harpsichord and strings into unique, lush sounds. I could do without the spoken word internal dialogue-style stuff on "What's a Girl to Do?" (think Hermione from Harry Potter grown up and lamenting her fickle heart). She also seems to have what some might call an unnatural obsession with bats, mentioning them in nearly every song. But it works somehow - joining the lords and ladies and wizards for a thematic, dramatic good time.
I adore "Prescilla," and having grown up on Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run," Bat for Lashes' cover of "I'm on Fire" makes me so very happy.
If you like Feist, Cat Power (especially Moon Pix and the Covers Record) and New Buffalo, you should check this girl out.

Comparisons have been tossed about like leaves being flung about by the wind. Bat for Lashes has been compared to Tori Amos, Thom Yorke, Bjork, and Kate Bush. Maybe Natasha Khan does owe a little something to these musicians (who are brilliant in their own right), yet she doesn't owe them anything. She is her own creation, her own artist. A talented one at that, too. From the mesmerizing opener, "Horse and I", to the last track, "I Saw a Light", "Fur and Gold" weaves a magic all its own.

I had come across Bat for Lashes on Youtube and after watching the video for "What's A Girl To Do" I was haunted by Natasha's lush voice. After listening to the entire album, I am even more haunted. She has a voice that purrs, whispers and shouts. Compare her if you will to Tori, Bjork or Kate, but I find her to be different. I hope comparisons will not bog down this wonderful talent.

Listen to this with a pair of headphones on (or even without) just so you can get the complete feel of what Bat for Lashes has to offer. You will enjoy it. It will take you to a place that you probably have not been in a long time and that you had forgotten even existed.

This freshman album from Bat for Lashes creates beautiful harmony by combining unique instruments and classic piano with her melancholy voice. The power of the lead singer's delicate voice is reminiscent of Bjork or Tori Amos. I fell in love with this entire album and am anxious to hear more from Bat for Lashes.

I love all her musical stylings and her voice. This girl doesn't sound like anyone else but her own. I had the pleasure to listen to this cd again and again and again to her beautiful voice and music when I was surfing the internet and every songs seems to have a life of its own after that, and each and "everyone" of the song keep you entertained by dancing around a big fire, wet your feet with their splashes of watery melodies and put that shiny thing called "happiness" into your soul(...it feels like Wow!!!...). Rarely an album has all killer songs to accompany you like this. It is such a gorgeous album. Am I so happy that she is on this earth!
Run to the nearest music store or if there's no music store in your radius, then purchase this quick!!!

If you like Heather Nova, Bjork, Kate Bush, Blackmore's Night-(Candice), and Hooverphonic you won't be disappointed. Her voice has a nice blend similar to those female vocalists.

I love this entire CD. It has a great variety of different emotion and sounds. I heard "What's a Girl To Do" originally and I instantly loved it, so I previewed some of the other songs and bought the album. I didn't have to listen to the album a number of times to like the songs. They are each beautiful and emotional. I especially love "The Wizard" and "The Bat's Mouth", they give me chills everytime single time. Good for people that like Feist, Imogen Heap, or Rilo Kiley.