Bat For Lashes: The Bride

By Cindy Low • 14 Jul 2016 in Review

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Bat For Lashes, or Natasha Khan, is the titular bride who is widowed too soon here on this concept album – or rather, a film visualised in the mind through the constructed theatrical stories in the form of songs that move the plot along. There is no twist in this tragic romance; the story moves as the title of the songs suggest. Still, it is a lovely lament. A premonition of her fiancé is illustrated in ‘Joe’s Dream’, but it is made clear in the dark flurry of trudging synth beats on ‘In God’s House’ that the deathly omen of her lover is realised. After ‘Sunday Love’, the pop song halts to segue into a more meditative and intimate telling of The Bride’s navigation through the emotional maze that is the lost of her lover. Dramatic effects such as resounding strings, drums, and crystalline guitar (on the aggrieved ‘Never Forgive The Angels’), as well as recordings of thunderous rainfall on ‘Honeymooning Alone’ and the bitterly mystical ‘Widow’s Peak’, amplify the heartache of losing a love so nearly officiated. After expelling her anguish, she finally finds peace with the death of her lover in ‘If I Knew’ – a stunning, heart-wrenching dedication for his unconditional love that aided in her self-discovery, as she sings, “There was a mountain I had to claim as mine, and you brought every weather from storm to shine, but I’m thankful for who you helped me find.”

Watch the video for ‘Sunday Love’ below: