A Bat for this Haunted Man

This comes as no surprise for some. Bat for Lashes has been on the spot since the realease of her third album "The Haunted Man", a corollary for her previous works: "Two Suns", and her debut album "Fur and Gold". Personally, I had been waiting for this album so much this year, since I'm a big fan of this British musician. I had fallen in love with her since I first listened "What's A Girl To Do" - nothing special, really - and she's always been on my personal favourites of all times. And the wait, from the perspective of a hungry fan, had been long until, at last, I could listen to this album.

And, it just blew my mind. 

The provocative artwork is a premise for what the album sounds like. The picture was taken by Ryan McGinley, and reveals the nakedness of Miss Khan carrying a man on her shoulders, which represents, according to her, women who end up carrying all the problems, nightmares and torments of the men they love. She also told in a couple of interviews that for this picture she wanted to appear as natural as possible, so she didn't shave her legs or dyed her moustache. Just like that. She also explained for Pitchfork the funny feeling of sensing the model's "willy" while the picture was being taken.

For me, the album is as straight-forward as the picture on the cover. It's all about woman, unrequited love, the sacrifices one needs to undertake in order to protect the one we love. What is behind each song, is, according to what I read from a beautiful interview that appeared on Pitchfork - look it up, it's just beautiful - the sum of a hard process that started from Natasha's split-up from his boyfriend, a very long relationship and a guy she was very attached to for long. In trying to go on with her life, the musician found herself out of inspiration, and pretty lost. She told at one part of the interview that she happened to have the phone number of a friend of hers - Thom York - and that she finally decided to call him just in case, for a pece of advice useful in those troublesome moments. She called and asked him what he did in times when he didn't have any ideas for music. He told her to draw. And she followed that piece of advice, in addition to taking dance classes and joining meetings with a lot of musician in New York and such. At some point, she also felt she needed to retire to a place by the sea to find herself and her art, so she went to a place - forgive me, I don't remember the name - in England, which you can see in some of the introductory videos Bat uploaded before the album was released. 

And we finally get to hear "The Haunted Man". The album starts with a slap in the face: "Lilies" attracts the listener with spirals of fumes and magic. It is evanescent and evocative - the whole album is. Good start. Then it follows a single "All Your Gold", in which we hear the story of the women represented throughout the album: women left aside by men trapped in their problems and limitations. And women who are hurt and troubled by it (And for every sweet nothing you whisper / Why is goodbye my reply?). Then we get "Horses Of The Sun" and "Oh, Yeah", both powerful and stunning, mysterious, different in tone - "Oh, Yeah" is psychedelic and deep - but revealing the degree of experimentation Bat For Lashes wanted to display. And we get to "Laura", first single. The amazing - and amazingly simple - piano ballad co-written with Justin Parker, the one who co-wrote some of Lana del Rey's songs. While listening to it, the overwhelming voice of Miss Khan takes over everything, mind and soul, and tells the story of this woman isolated by fear and loneliness. And you want to be that Laura, because you can be noticed by such marvelous musicians who tells you that you're more than a superstar. Simply uplifting. We get to "Winter Fields" and "The Haunted Man", two of my favourites, which are also wonderful displays of Khan's artistry, you may feel surrounded by memories, by wonderful thoughts, by melancholy as well. They are strong, though. The same happens with "Marylin", which follows the line of these two songs, but with more contrasts between dark and light. The figure of Marylin Monroe is present here, according to Ms Khan. And we can see her in all her splendour through the song. Then you start to move your feet a bit with "A Wall", which seems nicer by its construction, but it has an exhortation to the haunted man going around the album: Cause where you see a wall, I see a door / Set up with no map and turn off your torch. And after an exhortation, an invitation comes: "Rest Your Head", which is calming but no less powerful that the other songs in the album. We are left flying upon the ocean, you can even touch the sea with your tip-toes. And we finally get to "Deep Sea Diver", in which we feel we plunge slowly in a sea of sounds. End of the trip. We feel in peace, but with many questions. 

This album is certainly different from its predecessors, there is less playfulness and cosmic concepts: Miss Kahn stopped concentrating on the moon and galaxies to examine men and women inside: that's why I feel this is the most honest work from her three albums. It is more straight-forward, clear, inviting. 

This is my album of the year, but I'm not the only one who say so. Check many lists dealing with "albums of the year" stuff, and you'll find it easily among the top ones. 

A brilliant critic, Rolando Soto Zúñiga (a.k.a @MPoindexter), has claimed that Bat For Lashes is the fair inheritor of Kate Bush's music. I'd say she's more than that: she's deconstructed her legacy to become the creator of something new and everlasting.

Dedicated to the mentioned critic, wonderful man haunted by music.