Natasha Khan’s latest effort, concept album about a woman whose fiancé has been killed in a crash on the way to the church for their wedding, may not be her best work, but feels like a breath of fresh air.
After 2012’s stunning The Haunted Man, Bat For Lashes took a few years off and eventually debuted her new project Sexwitch (collaboration with the English band TOY) last year. The self-titled EP, which consists of six covers of 1970s psych and folk songs from around the world, fell a bit flat and felt unnecessary. With recently released The Bride, Khan (sort of) returns to the right path.
Throughout the album Khan’s character mourns the love of her lover. “And we become a dream of time and sound/When I go to the other side” she sings on Close Encounters, wishing she will join her beloved when she dies. And while lyrically nothing seems to be out of place, sonically it’s not as striking as her previous work. Nothing on here reaches the peaks of, let’s say, Daniel, Glass or Laura and this is the main problem on this album. Still, The Bride is not a major let down, but rather a satisfying record.
3 / 5