Kate Bush: 1970s Eclectic Magical Faerie-Voiced Multi-Instrumentalist Bat for Lashes: Current-Day Eclectic Mystical Airy-Voiced Multi-Instrumentalist
How History Repeats Itself: At this point, it's a cliché to use Kate Bush as shorthand to describe the mystical, otherworldly vibe of Natasha Khan's Bat for Lashes project. But as is the case with so many clichés, this one has caught on because it's grounded in truth. Both Brit birds are blessed with ethereal, soaring voices and a gift for vivid, imagistic writing. As is evident from their tunes, Khan and Bush also share a love of arty synthesizers – especially ones that deliver cascades of pseudo-harpsichord sounds. You could also draw parallels between the elaborate costumes they use to channel the characters in their music, but an even more pronounced commonality can be found in the themes of their work: Both have a particular interest in exploring the nuances and complexities of gender roles and male-female relationships without resorting to hackneyed platitudes.
