Two Suns

Bat For Lashes has a new record coming which means lots of new and inspiring photos of her whimsical outfits. I especially love the top photo. The print on the shirt is really interesting (A pile of skulls? Chemicles combusting?) and the slew of colored bracelets remind me of playing dress up as a kid. Bat For Lashes dresses like a magpie, collecting seemingly magical clothing in every place she travels and wearing them with an everday effortless attitude. Totally comfortable in what she likes despite the extreme eccentricity of her look; that is true style.

Icon: Bat for Lashes

In an effect to make record shopping less overwhelming I decided to narrow down my list. When I came to Bat For Lashes I said, "I don't even remember what they sound like, who are Bat for Lashes anyway? I won't like them. I'll give them a listen right now." After a single visit to their myspace I was enrapt in a swell of whimsical, yet creepily grounded, music. I listened to Horse and I repeatedly for an hour. When I heard the handclap opener to Priscilla I knew I had to get the record. This music feels like the emergence of another world and the band dress themselves appropriately. Feathers, sequin headbands, and milkyway streams of gold beneath their cheekbones are just a few of their elfin and gypsy adornments.

To hear Natasha Khan tell it, making the record was pure magic-she tracked vocals in a rainy forest. Onstage you'll see them switch instruments mid-song. They even have a shaman staff that produces a thunder-like rage when its hilt hits the stage.

Through this experience I've learend that Bat for Lashes aren't to be taken for granted. They are here to take you away. Now go feast amongst the red wood giants and shadow banquets.

www.myspace.com/batforlashes