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BAT FOR LASHES
&
KATE WALSH

Lancaster Library
26 May 2007

Reviewed by PJ

Lancaster goes bats for lashes
Stewart Parsons of Lancaster Library really is getting it right – should he ever decide to give up the day job, I reckon he’d have a great career in music promotion. The dear old library has consistently hosted excellent music acts since the decision was taken to think outside the box and use the library space out of normal hours in a slightly unorthodox way.

For those of you that don’t already know, for the last 2 years, unusual events have been taking place in our library, much to the delight of local music lovers… and it looks as if Stewart is a man with the golden touch. Bands such as the Long Blondes, Mr. Hudson & the Library, I Was a Cub Scout, and the Wombats have been playing at the occasional Lancaster Library gigs, and V-L has been privileged to get press tickets to some of them. Privileged and very lucky, as now people are catching on, the gigs have been selling out immediately. Where else can you see bands of this calibre for £2? Or in the case of the Thrills (June 18 - sold out) for £10? Mr Parsons – we salute you. And keep em coming!

We were pretty keen on this delectable double bill. 'Bat for Lashes? What’s that about?' we thought. We’d heard the buzz but not the music, so always up for something different, we went along to see the show and interview Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes.

It would be so easy to describe ex-nursery school teacher Natasha as beautiful, talented, original – she is all of these things and more. But her passion for music and pushing boundaries, looking into the past as well as the future, makes her very special indeed… Bat For Lashes is really Natasha’s project, although this by no means disrespects Abi, Caro and Lizzie, also awesomely talented, who were part of the line up on May 26.

PJ: How long have you been working with the others?

NK: Its fluid – I started Bat for Lashes alone, (Natasha writes all the lyrics and music) and I’ve known Abi, Caro and Lizzie for varying lengths of time. I want Bat for Lashes to grow and develop.

PJ: Which does it for you, live, or in the studio?

NK: Amazing to be in the studio – the first album was a learning curve! But I’ve got to say, live wins every time. There’s been such a response, its really been confidence boosting.

PJ: And your influences?

NK: Bjork, Kate Bush – Donnie Darko (the film) …I did my music degree in Brighton, and there’s a lot going on there.

PJ: You’re playing Latitude, Glastonbury, Bestival, numerous gigs abroad. How do you feel about playing in Lancaster Library?

NK: A range is important.

PJ: Why Bat for Lashes?

NK: I love the dark side! I thought of the name in a library!

PJ: What inspires you?

NK: Listen to the songs and you’ll hear shamanistic lyrics. Some of my stuff has come to me in dreams…

And the gig was dream-like too – if your dreams are multi-textured adventures in musical fairyland. With guts and passion, and shades of light and dark.

First up was Kate Walsh (recently hugely featured in the Independent). A truly beautiful voice, songs filled with melancholy and overlaid with a sense of humour… anecdotes and ballsy self confidence.

Kate’s voice was lyrical, powerful, reined in and rained on (in a good way). Burnham on Crouch should be very proud! Buy this woman’s record! By the time she finished her set, I was a bit worried that Bat for Lashes would be put in the shade, cos Kate was so damn good.

However – BFL were just amazing. At the risk of gushing, the entire set was magical from the start, which was a piece called Petit Chevalier, all the way through, including a Bruce Springsteen cover – ‘I’m on Fire’ as you’ve never heard it before.

The other songs were all by Natasha, whose voice could win awards by itself, but when used with such a variety of instruments (guitars, keyboards, lots of percussion, a weird thing from 1890, possibly called a marxophone?) – it blew us all away into the land at the top of the faraway tree. Where there was a big party going on.
Go and see Bat for Lashes!
And get in the library!

7/6/07 PJ