THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE — BACK IN TIME WITH BAT FOR LASHES AND THE LOST GIRLS (2019)
Bat For Lashes has been resurrected! Natasha Khan returns to the land of the living as a brand new artistic persona with music and stories that are both old and new. Captivated yet? Stay with me then. In between the release of her last album in 2016 and the current project, Natasha kept herself busy with side hustles. She funded and directed a short video titled Light Beings, a brilliant example of how to tell an entrancing story in less than 3 minutes. She also composed the soundtrack to a BBC miniseries Requiem (now easily accessible on Netflix), for which she won an Ivor Norvello Award. “Kids In The Dark” is the first chapter of a concept album Lost Girls, due to be released September 6.
The first thing you notice about the single is its strong and pervasive 80s vibe. It penetrates every ambient sound in the instrumental and immediately transports you to the Stranger Things universe. The song is a rendering of an intricate bond between Nikki Pink, portrayed by Natasha, and her love interest. They roam the city of Los Angeles together, like two dove-eyed teenagers, with the nostalgic feeling of a warm summer afternoon hanging in the air. At first glance, despite traveling 3 decades back in time, everything generally seems pretty ordinary. Yet, the dreamy LA settings lull us into a false sense of security. In a matter of minutes the darkness reveals itself in broad daylight. While the lovers look deep in each other’s eyes in a tight embrace, tragically, their story inevitably ends in farewell. Nikki’s secret breaks them apart and she disappears into the night.
It’s not that easy to create compelling suspense and maintain it for the entirety of the song and yet Bat For Lashes not only proved it’s doable but that it can be executed epically. With much contribution form the mysterious Lost Girls, who serve as Nikki’s tribe and support system lurking in the background, the story is captivating. Who are they? What are they? These, and many more questions have been posed and it looks like we will have to remain patient for now, keeping an ear out for any more clues from Nikki before the release of the album in September.
“Kinds In The Dark” is also a metaphor for growing apart. Everything changes, nothing stays the same forever — such is the iron law of life. While all people evolve, we might not go through that process in the same rhythm or with the same velocity, therefore, the risk of growing apart from our partners, families or friends is always there, beyond our control. This song is a depiction of exactly that — the inevitability of change.
We will be able to uncover the rest of the story’s continuation in further song chapters of the concept album Lost Girls in September. However, you can keep in touch with Natasha through the official Bat For Lashes messenger channel and get all the updates and news before anyone else. That’ll do for now. Still, we don’t want to remain kids in the dark forever.
