CD of The Week

It's been three years since Natasha Khanreleased an album under the name Bat for Lashes, the ethereal Two Suns. Listening to her latest album, The Haunted Man, it doesn't seem like much has really changed. Yet there's a beating heart that gives this latest effort additional weight, a joy that echoes throughout.

It's present in the floaty opener, "Lilies," but really kicks in with "All Your Gold." The beat recalls Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know," but the lyrics are a little more complex, detailing her joy over a new love coupled with a reluctance to trust him. "Oh Yeah!" is an enthuastic mating call, while songs like "Horse of the Sun" and "Rest Your Head" are understated, sweetly romantic shakers.

It's that romanticism that sweeps through The Haunted Man, a happiness at its core that keeps its lighter-than-air melodies tethered to concerns of the heart. The naked photo of Khan on the cover of the album is entirely relevant: for all of its synth-laden ambient layers and reverb-heavy choruses, this is a stripped down exploration, and declaration of, love.