Within the first 25 seconds of "Moon and Moon," Bat for Lashes' Natasha Khan drops the line, "I'm a huntress for a husband lost at sea," revealing both a stark seriousness and a penchant for lyrical flights of fancy. But then, within the song's first five seconds, Khan had already uncorked a mesmerizing minor-key piano melody, so it was already clear that she's not messing around.
Like Regina Spektor and others, the English singer knows how to layer beauty atop beauty, as "Moon and Moon" finds her piling synth washes on top of minor-key pianos on top of her own rich, sweet voice. Khan infuses her gloomily portentous sound-world with genuine emotion, mixing the ethereal with imagery both animalistic ("Where's my bear to lick me clean?") and wounded ("It'll drag me to your door / and I won't see you no more"). It all keeps "Moon and Moon" tethered to reality in a way that makes the song resonate as more than just the sound of gorgeousness for its own sake.
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