14th
Bat For Lashes | Live Review
Every now and again, an artist appears and blows you away. Dark and mysterious Natasha Khan, otherwise known as ‘Bat for Lashes,’ is one of those people.
Playing to a highly eclectic audience, Nottingham’s Rock City was packed with people clamouring to get a fix of her infectious symphonies.
At home with new-age hippies, Khan creates a sound that thankfully, doesn’t warrant the use of narcotics in order to ‘get-it’.
She creates cinematically visual music. Often steadily building, her tracks comprise a perfect balance of different elements, providing a sound which warrants Glastonbury-fringe style swaying. Its music you want to wallow in.
Her pitch-perfect vocals are comparable to those of Bjork, or Kate Bush, though that may perhaps be understating her ability. She and her band are hugely talented, and together produce harmonies to die for.
It’s not music you can sing along to, not by any stretch of the imagination (there aren’t many people blessed with her vocal-range for a start). That doesn’t seem to bother the many people who come to see her though, they’re quite content with drinking in the gorgeous sounds.
“What’s a girl to do” was probably the crowd favourite, amongst many others, Khan working with band mate Charlotte Hatherley (formerly from Ash) to create a uplifting, building piece of music.
Khan’s live show is, simply-put, excellent. It may demand a bit of Guardian-reader style hippy liberalism, but why let the children of the sixties have all the fun?
In a pause between songs a young girl breaks the audience’s hush shouting “Your Amazing”. There was no hint of irony though, and although the sudden outburst produced a ripple of titters, the general consensus was “yes, yes she is”.
