One of the biggest surprises of the year for me has been the sophomore album, Two Suns, from Brighton, England’s Natasha Khan (stage name: Bat For Lashes). I never got into her debut album, but I’m blown away by her new 80’s influenced psych-pop tunes. The clear highlight of the album is the hypnotic, captivating first single, “Daniel”, a song that is awesomely about her fan-crush on Daniel Larusso from The Karate Kid.
“Daniel” strikes a wonderful balance of being extremely accessible and poppy while retaining a mystical, atmospheric quality that makes her music unique and inventive. Natasha’s vocals are absolutely enchanting and the instrumentation of dark synths and violas give the music a seductive edge. It’s an incredibly whimsical, engaging pop song and one of the best of the year.
The accompanying video matches the dramatic, artistic nature with black-clad dancers that look to be right out of Cirque du Soleil, as well as it’s Karate Kid thematics with a head-banded hero appearing at the climax.
