Bat For Lashes
Album: The Haunted Man
Label: Parlophone
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.batforlashes.com

Yes, Kate Bush. Yes, Bjork. Yes, Polly Harvey. Yes, Patti flamin' Smith. Yes. Yes. Yes. Bat For Lashes' Natasha Khan has doubtless long since learned to live with seeing such names in reviews of her material. The fact they are consistently trotted out not so much to dismiss her efforts as to illustrate how good they are kind of makes its own statement.

The Haunted Man follows two albums - Fur and Gold (2006) and Two Suns (2009) - that both landed Mercury nominations, the latter also popped out an Ivor Novello gong for Daniel. Given the breathy pace of her music development so far, Khan can perhaps be forgiven for consolidating her talents and confirming her prowess as a writer with this third set.

Stand outs include the bravura psychedelia of Horses of the Sun, with Portishead's Adrian Utley, and the title track's hint of PJ Harvey betrays the hand of long-time Harvey cohort Rob Ellis at work. Darker yet is the mordant 70s-style piano ballad Laura, with its parallel drawn between a new love affair and a train wreck.

The big beat sound of BFL's yore is resurrected on Marilyn, while A Wall gets angry with a bank of electronics, All Your Gold plugs guitars into the oddness, but opening track Lillies is blessed with an instantly familiar melody.

The Haunted Man has much to commend it, but if it lacks the cohesion of earlier outings that is maybe because it has yet to bed in and find its own voice… you know, just like long players used to do in the olden days.

Nick Churchill
www.thegranvillechambers.co.uk