The Laneway Festival sideshows rolled into Sydney this week and tonight we are treated to the mesmerizing Natasha Khan, better known as Bat For Lashes, touring in support of her latest release The Haunted Man.
Supporting act Kirin J Callahan (ex-Mercy Arms) opened proceedings with his electric brand of violent and intense noises. In terms of musical style, this was an intriguing choice as opener for the headline act.
Natasha Khan arrived on stage with a matching multi-colored skirt and cape, looking much like a rainbow lorikeet. Backed tightly by a four-piece band, they opened with a passionate ‘Lilies’ where Khan’s anguished face searched the crowd and belted out “Thank god I’m alive!”
It was a stirring introduction as she prowled the stage in endless movement with the audience in stunned silence.
A pleasant early surprise was the airing of ‘What’s A Girl To Do?’ from debut album Fur And Gold. It has an opening of eerie Transylvanian keys (as if you were walking through a haunted house) and Kahn’s seductive spoken word-tone interplayed with the sweet and sleek singing. “When you love someone/ but the thrill is gone/ And your kisses at night are replaced by tears.”
Khan channels Tori Amos on ‘Travelling Woman’, as the chords of the piano intertwined with her melancholy yet soothing voice. There was an air of confidence in her performance tonight and a sense much of the emotional outlet in Khan’s songs also served as somewhat of a healing process.
The beginning of ‘All Your Gold’ has a touch of Gotye’s ‘Somebody I Used To Know’, and though sonically it dissipates once the vocals kick in, as a story of a broken relationship with heartfelt lyrics – the comparison persists. Especially in lines like, “There was someone that I knew before/ A heart from the past.”
However sad the song may be, Khan still danced like it was a joyous occasion on stage and reached out to her fans with adulation.
Perhaps the most poignant moment of the night belonged to the depiction of sadness that is character piece, ‘Laura’.
A spine tingling moment was shared by all in the theatre as Khan and her piano echoed throughout the venue. It’s clear that the depth and passion of her lyrics have continued to mature in the past decade, particularly on the upbeat ‘A Wall’, with an economic lyric like “When you see a wall and I see a door.”
With ‘Siren Song’ Khan channeled her eclectic musical style not dissimilar to fellow Brit Kate Bush, with vocals that soared into climatic crescendo with drums. She finished with ‘Sleep Alone’ and ‘Pearl’s Dream’ and allowed the punters to cheer and applause for more.
Khan’s on stage persona is playful and relaxed, which was a complete contradiction to her stern facial expression on the album cover of The Haunted Man.
The encore came swiftly where during ‘The Haunted Man’ Khan held an old wireless above her head that produced chanting male voices as a backdrop. What followed next was ‘Daniel’ from Two Suns, which is arguably her biggest hit, with breathy vocals underplaying the tribal repetitive drum beats.
The ability to tell a story through song is a rare quality in a world full of cheesy commercial pop. It’s something that should be cherished when an artist this talented comes along not born out of a reality television program.
Arguably the crowd tonight witnessed as close to a perfect performance one could wish for with such a celebration of varied emotions in song. Khan is a true English rose that is already in full bloom.
