‘Welcome to my wedding’ grins Natasha Khan – aka Bat for Lashes – after walking alone down the aisle of St. George’s Church in her hometown. ‘You all look wonderful.’
Many fans have acted upon Khan’s request to get into the spirit of her new album The Bride – based around love and loss, with a fictional groom dying en route to the wedding – by donning dresses and suits.
The sense of occasion and fantasy created by the dress code is reinforced by Khan’s first new song of the night: I Do, a ghostly altar ballad.
Always a warm, endearing presence, the singer later admits to nerves over performing so much new material – but it wasn’t noticeable as she showcased the rich melody of Honeymooning Alone, propulsive guitar work of Sunday Love, and the ambient ‘ray of sun’ (in Khan’s words) I Will Love Again.
These songs in particular displayed Khan’s eclecticism, and the only minor complaint is that they ended a little too soon. Conversely, this impression is only testament to their immediate impact – these tracks are certainly worth familiarising oneself with.
Selections from Khan’s impressive back catalogue complemented the emotional tone of the night; most notably the piano melody Laura, perhaps her most affecting song to date, and the anguished stomp of What’s a Girl To Do, released a decade ago.
After signing off with biggest single Daniel, Khan tosses her bouquet into the crowd, giving one fan a treasured souvenir from this evocative conceptual ceremony.
On tonight’s evidence, Brighton is still very much wed to one of its finest musical exports.
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