Tastes Like Chicken

If "tastes like chicken" is the bane of gourmands everywhere, then "If you like Kate Bush, you'll love...(fill in the blank)" is the unimaginative music fan's killer catchphrase. I'd just been thinking that when I read an interview with Florence Welch, of Florence + The Machine, in which she was asked, "Is it lazy journalism to compare you with Kate Bush?" She responded both yes and no. I haven't heard Florence + The Machine's latest, but I bet it won't remind me of Kate Bush.

With that in mind, I gave a listen to Bat For Lashes' (aka Natasha Khan ) "Two Suns." It reminds me of Kate Bush here and there, mostly vocally - Khan likes to make big octave leaps and has a little of Bush's Brit-sweet affectation. Occasionally, on a song like "Sleep Alone," you hear an echo of Bush's most electronic recordings, such as "Joanni" and "Sat In Your Lap." Tender, piano-driven pieces like "Moon and Moon" do seem influenced by Bush's earlier albums. Bat For Lashes is often compared to Stevie Nicks as well, and validly, in the sense that as a lyricist, Khan seems to inhabit her own private world (do you often find yourself listening to Fleetwood Mac and wondering what the heck Nicks is talking about? I say that as a huge fan, not as a critic). Khan is not as commanding as either Bush or Nicks as a vocal artist, however. I found myself tuning the songs out pretty quickly, poppy 80s background music, sweet but a little too light to divert my attention. You might also hear the influence of people like Annie Lennox, Sinead O'Connor (the 80s years) and the Cranberries, but while Khan's overall range is impressive she doesn't ever sing with much power or theatricality. Scott Walker's cameo on "The Big Sleep" does nothing to help the Kate Bush parallels, reminiscent as it is of those odd moments when Kate's brother Paddy would guest star as a "heehawing" demon or what-have-you.

You might expect to hear this music during a rave scene in a hipster movie or on the catwalk at a fashion show. It's not terrible, it perhaps just feels too derivative to seem new and exciting, and the artist lacks a virtuosic talent for singing, playing or writing that might make you overlook the lack of originality.

Does your mileage vary? If you're a fan of "Two Suns," convince me a little bit so I'll give it a second listen. :) Best tracks to my ears: "Glass," "Pearl's Dream," "Travelling Woman." You can find "Two Suns" in our Catalog.