Bat For Lashes at The Parish
Arian Brumby
The music that plays over the PA during sound check is typically the sound guy’s choice. If so, he chose an awfully prescient pick in Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle followed by Parks’ collaboration with Brian Wilson, Smile. Natasha Khan, who records under the name Bat For Lashes, is often compared to visionary females Kate Bush and Björk, but in many ways her work yearns even further backward to Parks and his starry-eyed, woozy-carnival Americana. Like Parks, Khan fills her songs with bits of gothic, fabled mystery and uses electronics in tandem with turn-of-last-century instruments like the autoharp and harpsichord, all while draping her stage in gauzy fabrics and light like a slightly more playful Miss Havisham.
Bat For Lashes now tours as a four-piece featuring three other talented multi-instrumentalists: Ben Christophers mainly contends with electronics; Charlotte Hatherley (formerly of Ash) plays guitar, bass, and a number of other instruments; and Sarah Jones (of New Young Pony Club) pounds the drums and lends backing vocals. With such a capable group of musicians at her disposal, Khan seamlessly brought the electronic elements of her songs together with smart live interpretations—and that’s to say nothing of Khan herself, an emphatic and expressive singer who thankfully stops short of melodrama. With only two albums to its name so far, Bat For Lashes dipped heavily into both, exploring the dualities of this year’s Two Suns and reviving the well-worn pleasures of debut Fur And Gold.
Stylistically, Khan has tapped into something lacking in the world of modern music. Aside from recent releases by purring piano types like Tori Amos and her ilk, the gauntlet for the sort of sweepingly dramatic, goth-tinged music enjoyed by folks with an ear for the eerie has mostly just sat there. Khan eagerly takes it up and transforms it into hypnotic singles like the winking, harpsichord-driven “What’s A Girl To Do?” and the lightly galloping “Sleep Alone,” both of which could appeal equally to fans of new wave, prog pop, electro, and Emily The Strange. Like her music, Khan’s vocals are tinted with an accent that’s both slightly delicate and erratic, and she and her bandmates likewise jumped unpredictably from instrument to instrument, with Khan memorably taking a turn with her autoharp during the strong single “Prescilla.”
In a way, it’s surprising just how beloved Bat For Lashes has become. Despite similar love from blogs, the Ear Pwr show at Emo’s the night previous didn’t have enough attendees to man a small watercraft, but Khan and Co. played to a sold-out crowd that was both sweaty and effusive. Equally divided between male and female fans, both were generous with showing love, obviously taken with Khan. It was the sort of show where no less than 10 people were recording a song for posterity on their cell phones at any given time, and fans were apt to yell, “Beautiful!” at any lull.
Bat For Lashes may have a “misfit” quality that makes it attractive, but the underlying, elephant-sized irony is that Khan herself is so talented—and, it must be said, totally eye-catching—that she’s less a weirdo than that fascinating girl in art class whom everyone wants to sit next to. While definitely recalling all the brilliant “weird girls” who came before her—like Kate Bush and Björk, yes, and more recently Joanna Newsom—she’s also decidedly new, and uniquely enthralling. The same way Van Dyke Parks filtered his vision of an early, more idyllic America through futuristic studio swoops, Khan’s music treads a dark path through an old medieval forest that leads directly to a smoky nightclub. It’s a sound of intense, intoxicating passion—on record and even more so on stage.
