'The Haunted Man' Is the Best Bat for Lashes Album and It's Celebrating a Ten Year Anniversary This Week

One of the great voices of the past few decades, here is where Natasha Khan brings it all together for a stunning record.

When it comes to celebrating album anniversaries, sometimes I dive into examining release dates of yore. Other times, like my deep dive into R.E.M.’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi, I’ve got the upcoming commemoration in mind because a record has meant so much to me over the years. This is the case for The Haunted Man, a devastatingly gorgeous record that sounds as current and future-forward as it did when Natasha Khan let it out into the world a decade ago.

Khan, who performs as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer-songwriter who ranks among my favorites. Certainly critically acclaimed while still most definitely underrated, Khan broke into the indie world with her debut, Fur and Gold in 2006 before following up with Two Suns three years later. Both were nominated for the Mercury Prize, which few others have achieved out of the gate.

Often compared to Kate Bush, Björk, or Siouxsie Sioux, Khan fully realized her unique style of art rock on The Haunted Man, with a turn towards dream pop that allows her heavenly voice the room to breathe. The record is effortlessly bewitching, but the transformation to reach this new sound found Khan with an epic case of writer’s block after wrapping up touring for Two Suns. Returning to England after a Brooklyn breakup, she did what we would all do in this situation: phone Thom Yorke for advice. According to this Pitchfork profile from The Haunted Man's press cycle, Yorke told her to draw.

Partly inspired by her Pakistani grandfather’s experience of homelife falling out after returning from war and the complications of relationships, The Haunted Man was born.

“The idea of this man felt a lot like a metaphor for relationships. The women are trying to say, ‘I’m still here for you,’ but he’s unable to communicate. That endlessly nurturing woman is not having her needs met.” - Natalie Khan, Pitchfork 2012

Before the listener can play the first note of the opening song, “Lilies,” the staggering album cover features a nude Khan sans makeup or fucks to give, carrying an equally naked man on her back. Not only does it play into the lyrical themes of the record, but it also sets the greyscale sound throughout that allows flourishes of Technicolor when appropriate, like when Khan proclaims, “thank god I’m alive” on “Lillies.”

For one reason or another, Khan’s best work comes in songs with people’s names, like The Karate Kid referencing “Daniel” on Two Suns, and The Haunted Man includes two aural doozies of the variety. Lead single “Laura,” co-written with Justin Parker, who worked on Lana Del Ray’s breakthrough “Video Games,” is the most barren song on the record. With her voice accompanied by piano, the version found here is the demo, with flourishes of horns added at Abbey Road. When a song is this good, there’s no reason to tinker with it.

The other is one called “Marilyn,” which also happens to be my favorite Bat for Lashes song. In 1997, I couldn’t stomach hearing “Candle in the Wind” one more time, but Khan uses Marilyn Monroe as a metaphor for feeling exceptional. Combining a hyperactive kick drum with twinkling synths and strings, the song opens up into widescreen grandeur for a chorus hook that bangs around your brain for days. “Holding you I’m touching a star, turning into a Marilyn leaning out your big car,” sings Khan with imagery that would make the aforementioned Del Ray blush.

Khan's turn on The Haunted Man catapulted her into the next phase of her career, embracing retro synths with massive hooks. While still significant, the follow-up album The Bride is a misstep if Khan has one. If you’re unfamiliar with Bat for Lashes, 2019’s Lost Girls is as spectacular as The Haunted Man, coming in the form of 80s film nostalgia. A few years ahead of the game, I noted earlier this year that Mitski’s phenomenal Laurel Hell is entirely indebted to Lost Girls, and as much as I love Mitski’s latest, I find myself going back to Bat for Lashes after listening to it.

A new Bat for Lashes record is on the way, which has me digging back into her catalog again. The Haunted Man is the exception, though, one that has remained in constant rotation for a decade. Fit for the rainy New York autumn I was living in upon its release, I’m taken right back to the Broadway Station in Astoria, waiting for the train to take me into the city. Give The Haunted Man a listen. You’ll find it well worth remembering too.

Do you have anything to say about The Haunted Man or Bat for Lashes? Do you have a favorite record celebrating a decade? Let me know in the comments!