Revisit of the Week: Bat for Lashes - Fur and Gold (2006)

Typically I start finish these posts with a complementary video link at the bottom, but this time I'm going to slap it right in the beginning. The video for "What's a Girl to Do?" was my first exposure to Bat for Lashes, probably viewing it in Drowned in Sound most likely. It left an immediate, lingering impression. The visuals were fantastic, of course - besides the low-key furrybait, the general eeriness and the bicycle choreography that teeters enticingly on the border between finesse and awkward (some of those guys do flub a few of the tricks) makes for a hypnotic narrative that traps you, curious of what's to come next. But the song was enchanting as well. Opening like goth Motown with that strong drumbeat, before venturing into a seamlessly flowing stream of fog-heavy atmosphere and knife's edge tension, the chorus gaining more strength each go-around with a new layer of instruments and vocal harmonies layered on top until it sounds massive. Natasha Khan's voice coos and sways…