“In our culture, there’s an emphasis on being down, dark,and fucked up. So when there’s unabashed joy, that’s embarrassing for people; it’s too much, or it’s not cool.” – Natasha Khan in a recent interview with Pitchfork talking about her song “Lillies”.
Bat for Lashes has returned after two excellent albums to give us The Haunted Man. With her new record she has created a hopeful, dreamy musical world. Even though there is sadness and vulnerability in her music the main feeling I sense is total life affirmation. With “Lillies” the climax comes as she sings out “Thank God I’m alive!” and you can tell she means it. The above quote by Khan references this line and how sometimes joy just “isn’t cool” for some people. Usually joy and happiness are hard to express without coming off as sappy or false. But true ecstasy is one of the main reasons we return to art. With “Lillies” and other moments on The Haunted Man we are invited into the “unabashed joy” Khan discovered while creating her newest album. I hope you can feel it too.
I hate to say that I'm not feeling the new Bat For Lashes, though this is one of the songs I most like. I agree with her sentiments about joy 100%, though.
The album is less Cure-influenced than the last one. There is much more Kate Bush here. Somebody asked me if I was listening to Tori Amos which I found horrifying but I guess there is some of that here. I like the new album but not quite as much as the last. Lots of positive feelings on the album though and it is very well crafted.