Bat for Lashes, ‘Laura’ – Song Review

To say that Natasha Khan is haunting — or haunted — is as obvious as it is understatement. The woman that is Bat for Lashes made a breakthrough in 2009 with the stomping and luxurious ‘Two Suns’ and distills her poetics in ‘Laura,’ a knee-quaking and minimalist ballad. Listen below.

The song is swathed in certain sad sympathies, Khan reaching out to the titular character broken and blessed by the night preceding, “You say they left you behind, your heart broken, the party died.” There are consolations for the abstract starlet, heartfelt and inconsequential consolations that “you’re more than a superstar” and “you’ll be famous for longer than them.” You can just see the smeared mascara and ripped stockings.

While Laura, whoever she is, is clearly in a bad way, Khan is not: The song shows the 32-year-old artist confident and mature, standing solo within the composition, accompanied only by a mournful piano. Her voice pulls as strong an emotional tug as ‘Pearl’s Dream’ or ‘Daniel,’ and the reserved arrangement allows the vibrato of her unforgettable voice to express itself — to a staggering effect.

The song is the first proper taste we’ve had of Khan’s forthcoming third studio album, ‘The Haunted Man,’ out

on Oct. 23 via Capitol in the U.S. and on Oct. 15 in the U.K. from Parlophone/EMI.

Listen to Bat for Lashes, ‘Laura’