Bat For Lashes: 'Daniel'

First time around Bat For Lashes charmed the critics, earning a Mercury Prize nomination and two Brits nods, but remained a decidedly cultish proposition, with her debut album topping out at #48 on the charts. However, the press release for her second LP, due next month, claims that she "can turn her hand to pop's alluring fairy dust should the mood take her", suggesting her label's hoping she can widen her fanbase.

On this evidence, Parlophone could be in luck. 'Daniel', the album's trailer single, is probably the most immediate thing Natasha Khan has recorded. Both synthy and mystical-sounding, and filled with poetic lyrics about "Marlboro ruby skies" and "the smell of ash and cinders", it could almost pass for a lost Stevie Nicks track from the early eighties. Khan's velvety voice, meanwhile, remains as enchanting as ever, so here's hoping a few more people get to hear it.


> Click here to watch the 'Daniel' video