Bat for Lashes - Fur & Gold
List Price:
Our Price: $27.63
You Save: $0.36 (1%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.94 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: Bat for LashesEdition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2006-09-11
Music Label: Echo
Soundtracks:
- Horse & I
- Trophy
- Tahiti
- What'S A Girl To Do?
- Sad Eyes
- Wizard
- Prescilla
- Bat'S Mouth
- Seal Jubilee
- Sarah
- I Saw A Light
Free Music Notes for Fur & Gold
Free Music Review: A banquet for the shadows
Hit: 5 Stars
Imagine walking through a forest flooded by golden light, full of mystery and magic, and the sorrow of things that are fading away.
That's sort of the atmosphere of "Fur and Gold," the debut album by Bat For Lashes. The Brighton band -- really a one-woman band for Natasha Khan -- churns out a stream of shimmering, dark, fantastical chamberpop that sounds like the halfway point between Feist and Joanna Newsom.
It opens with the dreamlike "Horse and I," with its throbs of harpsichord and marching military drums (a Jeanne D'Arc influence?). "Got woken in the night/by a mystic golden light/My head soaked in river water," Khan murmurs, sounding both desperate and sleepy. "The smell of redwood giants/A banquet for the shadows/Horse and I, we're dancers in the dark/Came upon the headdress/It was gilded, dark and golden..."
It rises into a desperate plea, as "The children sang/I was so afraid I took it to my head and prayed/They sang to me, "This is yours to wear/You're the chosen one, there's no turning back." The song swells and falls, with Khan murmurs painfully, "There is no turning back/there is no turn..."
Khan does try out some more conventional songs, like the darkly minimalistic "What's A Girl To Do," a haunting, dramatic lament about a fizzled-out affair. But even then, she includes some unique phrases ("And my bat lightning heart/Wants to fly away"). And then there's "Sad Eyes," a painfully loving post-breakup song ("Keep my love as light as a feather").
Then she regains some of that more magical sound, with songs about powerful wizards, black snow, beautiful wild girls who die or grow up, centaurs, haunted forests. It finishes with the exquisite "I Saw A Light," a piano ballad that briefly swells up into a musical storm.... right before Khan says softly, "And I said goodbye."
The music industry doesn't turn out much music like this -- pop music that relies on sensual instrumentation and brilliant songwriting, rather than jiggle or computerized vocals. Fantastical forests and seas, tropical islands, lovelorn urbanites, and magical horses all somehow weave into this -- it's like a long, beautiful dream.
It also has pretty unique instrumentation -- much of it is harpsichord and strings, but there's also plenty of military-style drums, cymbals, some mellow electric guitar, trumpet in places, and a shimmer of autoharp. Khan weaves the sounds together expertly into a dark, lush, velvety tapestry that sounds like the work of a longtime professional.
And somehow it doesn't seem surprising that her vocals fit in perfectly -- she can do husky, soaring, a childlike singsong, or the half-spoken chant of "What's A Girl To Do?", where she seems to be almost conversing with the listener. Often she's backed by a ghostly, sensual chorale, which sounds like her own voice.
"Fur and Gold" is all darkness, gold, feathers and twilight -- a stunning, musically lush, lyrically exquisite pop album. Despite the odd name, Bat for Lashes has genius.
Fur & Gold Poster
2006 release from this mature Gothic outfit. Bat For Lashes is the creation of Natasha Khan, a Pakistan-born, Brighton based songwriter. Her concept for Fur And Gold was to make something that started at dusk and finished up in the glorious sunlight. That gives you an idea of what this ethereal, cinematic album sounds like. Natasha's soaring howls, whispers and joyous singing are the main focus here. As beguiling as Bjork, as stunning as Sinead O'Connor and as dramatic as Kate Bush, it is her voice that dominates. The often minimal backdrop of haunting strings, unusual percussive instruments and drum machines provides the perfect accompaniment. Mature gothic sounds for those willing to be whisked off to beautiful faraway lands. 11 tracks. Echo.Alternative Rock Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Life in Music
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - She's The OneRelease date: 1996-08-06; Music CD
Best price: $5.76
Price in other shops:
Rufus Wainwright - Want OneRelease date: 2003-09-23; Music CD
Best price: $7.76
Price in other shops:
The Virgin Suicides: Music from the Motion PictureRelease date: 2004-06-29; Music CD
Best price: $7.60
Price in other shops:
Garden StateRelease date: 2004-08-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.01
Price in other shops:
Simon & Garfunkel - The Best of Simon & GarfunkelRelease date: 1999-11-16; Music CD
Best price: $8.23
Price in other shops:
Jack Penate - Spit at StarsRelease date: 2007-05-22; Music CD
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Fiona Apple - TidalRelease date: 1996-07-23; Music CD
Best price: $4.78
Price in other shops:
Tracy Chapman - Tracy ChapmanRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $5.25
Price in other shops:
Tunng - Comments of the Inner ChorusRelease date: 2006-06-19; Music CD
Best price: $14.62
Price in other shops:
The Bird & The Bee - The Bird & The BeeRelease date: 2007-01-23; Music CD
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
Top Rated Albums
The White Stripes - Icky ThumpRelease date: 2007-06-19; Music CD
Best price: $5.06
Price in other shops:
Wilco - Sky Blue SkyRelease date: 2007-05-15; Music CD
Best price: $7.96
Price in other shops:
Portishead - ThirdRelease date: 2008-04-29; Music CD
Best price: $7.06
Price in other shops:
Santogold - SantogoldRelease date: 2008-04-29; Music CD
Best price: $10.43
Price in other shops:
KalaRelease date: 2007-08-21; Music CD
Best price: $6.87
Price in other shops:
Fleet Foxes - Fleet FoxesRelease date: 2008-06-03; Music CD
Best price: $9.39
Price in other shops:
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga GaRelease date: 2007-07-10; Music CD
Best price: $9.71
Price in other shops:
Bj?rk - VoltaRelease date: 2007-05-08; Music CD
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops:
Amy Winehouse - Back to BlackRelease date: 2007-03-13; Music CD
Best price: $8.96
Price in other shops:
Feist - The ReminderRelease date: 2007-05-01; Music CD
Best price: $7.24
Price in other shops: