The new Bat for Lashes single - 'What's a girl to do' is slowly creeping up to be my single of the week. When a song kicks off with the best drum intro of all time - Mr Spektor's, Be My baby the lil Vicster sits up and listens.
On first listen the spoken word sections are a lil hard to swallow and a tad precious but everything is ok when you have the coolest tinkering harpsichord type sound. All very motownesque.
As soon as she starts singing the song totally comes together, ace lyrics and ethereal backing vocals make it - I think the best offering from Miss Kahn yet.
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I have never been to Glastonbury in my life, and must admit I view most music festivals as a corporate conspiracy based upon selling the 1960s myth of ‘freedom’ to the children of Baby Boomers. However, please stay with me, as there is a comment relating to Victoria’s Bat For Lashes review lurking somewhere amongst the embittered ramblings below.
Shining like tiny islands of hope and sunshine amid the usual muddy ocean of dreary so-hip-it-hurts indie bands, and pointless oldies/tribute/self-parody acts like The Who (minus the chaotic rhythm guitar and expressive vocals, not to mention rhythm section, that made ‘em so interesting in the first place) at this year’s Glastonbury (I watched it on telly with me mum, natch), two performers in particular struck me hard.
The first of those encapsulates the true riotous, primitive energy at the heart of rock music more perfectly than any white performer in the game, ever. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Da Stooges. I am unable to be objective on the subject of The Stooges, but I will say that the sight of Iggy, Ron, Rock Action, Steve Mackay and Mike Watt and a legion of “muddy motherfuckers” invading the Pyramid Stage was possibly the most joyous Glasto moment I ever saw and brought the unwashed hordes (not to mention Michael Eavis’ security staff) as close to real freedom as they’re ever gonna get! And all this playing a set comprised mainly of songs written and recorded nearly 40 years ago! If you love ‘em as much as I do and you ain’t seen ‘em live yet, if you get the opportunity take it while you can!
My counsellor tells me I really must learn to calm down, but then surely great art should bring out the animal in us all, non? Bat For Lashes were ‘the other act’ at Glasto this year that showed themselves to be both genuine outsiders and musically unclassifiable. Natasha Khan was magisterial as she held court over the Tent (dunno what it’s actually called), pounding what was either the stage or something on the stage that may have been mic’d up (check my research kids!) with a large cane, inspiring true belief in her power as a bewitching tribal princess. Meanwhile, the other members of the band used conventional rockist instruments such as guitar and keys to cook up a mysterious, fractured musical brew that seemed to be simultaneously primitive and evolutionary, upbeat and down-home, funky and profound.
I must confess at this point that I have not yet had the chance to hear Bat For Lashes’ recorded output, but on the strength of that Glasto performance I will be digging it out shortly. Victoria’s comments about the Be My Baby drum intro only adds to my excitement. Brill-building pop song craft, the Wall of Sound production style, and the anything-goes spirit of innovation inherent in the first flowering of psychedelia, are all relevant reference points when discussing Bat For Lashes’ art, but this only serves to highlight one of the strongest elements of their muse. This is their other-worldly lack of clear cultural roots, a quality that helps them to both confound critics’ comparisons, and to simultaneously defy generic pigeonholing whilst maintaining a universal appeal by reflecting a wide range of cultural reference points, but not dwelling on any one of these for long enough to fall into the same stylistic-retrogressive trap as many of today’s mainstream performers. I hope that point makes as much sense on paper as it does in my head!
Sam Kelly, 12 June 2007
Thanks for such a beautiful response.
I missed them at Glasto and your comment has made me doubly, troubly jealous.
Just so many bands to see!
Hey Vic - Kiley's mate D1 here, just swung by to see what you're up to and you already introduced me to someone new I love, looking forward to reading more x
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