Bat for Lashes (real name Natasha Khan) is among the fresh names in the British indie scene, although she has already established herself as one of the most promising names of the new alternative wave. I, personally, have never been interested in the whole singer-songwriter stuff, but being influenced by the few that I have ever listened to I decided to check her out. I started from the single "Daniel", which happens to be quite a nice song. The quality of "Daniel" made me believe that "Two Suns" would be quite an experience. Let's say that my expectation were just a bit higher that the album turned out to be and still it deserves your attention.
I am not very experienced with the music of Bat for Lashes, but as soon as I heard her voice I just couldn't stop thinking of Sinead O'connor. Is it me or Khan has really got the voice of O'connor? Even after I listened to "Two Suns" several times I couldn't take this idea out of my head. Anyways, this was just a plus for me as I am an avid fan of Sinead's works.
"Two Suns" is the journey in a world of emotions of Khan's alter ego Pearl, who according to the official press-release is "a destructive, self-absorbed, blonde, femme fatale of a persona who acts as a direct foil to Khan's more mystical, desert-born spiritual self." The name of the album is a direct reference to the duality of live, which offers two sides of almost everything. The content of "Two Suns" is lyrically rich and stylistically various stretching from more downtempo to up-beat alternative tracks.
One of the major flaws of "Two Suns" is that it lacks genuine originality. Despite all the efforts put in the creation of the album it perfectly sounds like a compilation of songs made by various singer-songwriter artists, among which Tori Amos, Cat Power or Regina Spektor. It is admirable that Khan draws influence from prominent singers, but she has to try out to sound a but more distinctively or people might mistake her constantly and her music image to stay vague in their minds. Still Natasha is young and has her time to find herself in the music world...if not...well...
Songs to hear: "Daniel", "Glass", "Moon and Moon" and "Peace of Mind"
Personal rating: 7 out of 10
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