Bat For Lashes – The Bride

A concept record is always a tricky thing....
Bat For Lashes : The Bride
7.8 Parlophone
2016 

Bat For Lashes : The Bride

A concept record is always a tricky thing, as history is littered with examples of it not being pulled off, ending up more compelling to the creator than the listener, pieces wedged together, sounding similar, but without singles. But Natasha Khan, a.k.a. Bat For Lashes, is a more interesting artist than most, and her idea comes through on The Bride.

Based around the concept of a bride whose fiancé dies in a car crash on their wedding day, that is more of a starting off point than a hard blueprint. Yes, the record does traffic in love and loss, but varies between intimate tragedy of “Joe’s Dream” and grander effects of the following “In God’s House”. From the echoing opener “I Do” to the strings-led close of “In Your Bed”, Khan takes the listener through her character’s remorse and even finally acceptance, including the tech backdrop of “Sunday Love”, atmospheric brush with the other side “Close Encounters”, reduced harp-pluck “Land’s End”, even a spooked-up spoken word, “Widow’s Peak” (which unfortunately works about as well as other instances of spoken word on a musical album…).

Introduced to the world through a series of performances scheduled at churches (QRO photos), The Bride takes a strong concept and carries it beautifully.

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