Bat For Lashes — Fur And Gold

Natasha Khan is a bit of a weirdo and her Bat For Lashes project puts a distinctly provincial slant on the female singer-songwriter milieu. She enjoys dressing up in strange costumes and using plenty of face paint. Yet, when it comes to her music, she tows the line as a less difficult Cat Power or a less coked-up Stevie Nicks. Sinead O'Connor is another good comparison, seeing as Bat For Lashes take bits and pieces from various world music styles and filter these elements through a contemporary lens. Amazingly, this approach is surprisingly straightforward and, even when presenting her songs with a mere voice and piano, she manages to captivate the listener in a subtle and unnerving fashion. More often than not, this formula works. "Sad Eyes" and "Seal Jubilee" are as spooky as they are affecting.

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