Album Title: Fur and Gold
Label: Spunk
Released: 2007

Way back in 1994, British publication Q Magazine photographed PJ Harvey, Bjork and Tori Amos, all clad in white, on the front cover of their May edition. The premise of the article was to highlight the new wave of creative female artists, who were doing their own thing and whose popularity relied on their singularity. However, in the last thirteen years, it could be argued that the focus has shifted back to generic pop chanteuses, the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Madonna’s quasi-revival.

Enter Natasha Khan, like the proverbial love child of those Q cover stars, her similarities in musical and artistic temperament to those three acts means she is both vaguely familiar and something wonderfully new. While we’re making comparisons she could be also be called a feminine Patrick Wolf.

Bat For Lashes is essentially Khan’s project, raised in a background of folk music, hers is a stripped back but carefully chosen palette of piano, auto-harp, assorted percussion, and of course her rich, velvety voice.

The shadowy front artwork depicting Khan beside a white mare, as some art deco Pocahontas, hints at the kooky artistry at work in the album’s themes and musical direction. It also acts as a literal visualisation of opening track “Horse And I,” whom Radiohead’s Thom Yorke has described as making him “feel like a wolf.” Yorke’s comment speaks for the mysticism, as well as power, at work in Khan’s music; with songs about wizards, seals and “bat lightning hearts,” the links to nature and magic are a pertinent theme to the album.

It would be wrong to assume that Bat For Lashes tips dangerously to the side of ‘tree-hugging’ sentimentalism. The earnest track “Sad Eyes” indicates that this album isn’t mere gimmickry. While songs such as “Priscilla” and “Sarah,” with their handclapping and rumbling bass, steer in a new direction yet again, managing to strike a balance between rocking out while maintaining a delicate feminitity.

A confident and impressive debut, Bat For Lashes comes fully formed and while some of her ideas may not be entirely original - its nearly impossible not to hear the strains of Tori Amos in “The Wizard” or Bjork in “Bat’s Mouth” - Fur And Gold displays the kind of fresh, enticing music her idols have been crafting for years. If Natasha Khan manages to maintain this quality, while finding her own voice, it won’t be long before she joins their ranks.

Rating: 4½

Tracklist:
1. Horse And I
2. Trophy
3. Tahiti
4. What’s A Girl To Do?
5. Sad Eyes
6. The Wizard
7. Prescilla
8. Bat’s Mouth
9. Seal Jubilee
10. Sarah
11. I Saw A Light