Ents and Arts: Music

Album Review: Bat For Lashes - Two Suns

By Samuel Valdes Lopez
Published: 02/04/2009

It's somewhere through the amazingly beautiful 'Moon and Moon' that you realise something: Natasha Kahn is a singer with a lovely voice and the sparse but well placed instrumentation on her second album is the perfect complement to said voice.

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In this sophomore effort, Bat for Lashes shakes out any doubts about striking gold yet again, with a solid record based on reflective lyrics and minimalist arrangements and a few doses of noise (sparingly, though).

There's an inherent quirkiness in Bat for Lashes, a sort of shiny cocktail made up of different poisons. 'The Big Sleep' is a sort of spacey-tango that closes the album. A gospel chorus rears its head. There's a reverberated piano with a creepy steam-valve walking in the darkness.

Like a peanut butter and jam sandwich - it should be a mix that jars, but works perfectly.

On the not too shiny side of this twin star, you might feel like the mood never grows up. It feels a little formulaic in the first half, in a way that all arrangements are similar - but that's never too bad, it gives it a nice identity.

The second half really picks up, though, with 'Siren Song' giving goosebumps with the sheer brutality of its explosive nature. The marriage between the honest lyrics and the way in which the music grows until it becomes an avalanche makes it a powerful contender for 'Song of 2009'.

To call this album “ambient” is a disservice. To call it “album of the year” is a bold overstatement. To call it an “exercise of honest introspection with really excellent sound engineering” is the honest grade it can be awarded.

Overall, 'Two Suns' is an excellent follow-up for the Brighton songstress.

Preview the entire album for free: Bat for Lashes @ Last.fm

See the video for 'Daniel':