Bat for Lashes

I have a dark, shameful secret.

I am not a member of the elitist music community. I typically only hear of a band when they are played on the radio, or gasp they are featured as the single of the week on iTunes. I do not seek out new music on my own very often. I did not, in fact, seek out Bat for Lashes. Instead, I worked only hard enough to click on their advertisement on Vox this morning.

With this simple click, though, I found love. Batty lashy love.


When I was young, I used to listen to "Leader of the Pack" while pretending to rev my "motorcycle", which was, for all purposes, an exercise bike in my parents' basement. I would be that tragic leader of my pack, kept from my love by her father, who would never understand our love. The song fulfilled for me the knowledge that love--all love--was tragic, and ended in death and sadness.

"What's a Girl to Do" from Bat For Lashes' first album, Fur and Gold feels like the Shangri-Las had a torrid affair with the Addam's Family parents. I had a distinct desire to put on a corset and some dark eye makeup, then throw on a poodle skirt, and hop on the exercise bike, to rev my way to my love.

Enjoy. And please, drive your stationary exercise equipment responsibly.