When the melancholy strains of 'Glass' on Bat for Lashes' album Two Suns begin, it envelops you. And that hold on the listener continues through this fantastic sophomore album - by Bat for Lashes aka Natasha Khan, the daughter of a British mother and Pakistani squash player (and former coach to Jahangir Khan) Rahmat Khan. Retaining that hold on a listener is no easy feat. But Bat for Lashes manages to do it incredibly well, reminding one of Tori Amos and Fiona Apple and of newer indie singers like Ingrid Michaelson. Khan displays an impressive range of vocals on this album, with great song-writing to boot. And Bat for Lashes is part of a British invasion of female artistes who can easily control the music charts - one that will ensure that the sun will not set anytime soon on the British musical empire.

The 29-year-old Khan has garnered exceptional praise from music critics worldwide, both for Two Suns and her debut album Fur & Gold. She has toured with Radiohead and has been given appreciative nods from Radiohead front man Thom Yorke, Björk and M.I.A.

On Two Suns, the influences range from opera to electro-pop to spiritual gospel music. Take for example, the piano infused 'Moon and Moon', that has a ghostly, gospel music like feel to it and that gospel choir influence can be felt on the song 'Peace of Mind' as well. But it's not all chorus music. 'Siren Song' builds up through Khan's breathless voice to a deafening electro-pop crescendo of sorts. On 'The Big Sleep', which also features the vocals of Scott Walker, the song takes a theatrical opera quality, which draws attention from the otherwise morose message of the song that really belongs as a soundtrack to listen to on a deathbed. As Khan croons: 'No more spotlights / Coming down from heaven / It's a goodbye / It's curtain's double time'.

However, the piece de resistance on this album is 'Daniel', the hit single off Two Suns that shot Khan into the spotlight even further and the song one keeps returning to while listening to this album.

The song sounds like it was meant to be listened to under a moon-lit sky, melding Khan's soulful voice with interesting lyrics: 'When I run in the dark (Daniel) / Into a place that's lost (Daniel) / Under a sheet of rain in my heart (Daniel) / (Daniel) I dream of home.' This is definitely not your stereotypical love song, and one can't thank her enough for that. 'Daniel' leaves one enchanted with its otherworldly feel and its inherently catchy arrangement. The song is reportedly based on a fictional character Khan fell in love with as a teenager, leaving one wondering what a masterpiece she could come up with were Daniel not make-believe. There's a hint of imagination in 'Good Love' as well: 'I drove past true love once, in a dream / Like a house that caught fire, it burned and flamed / Then the magician disappeared as quickly as he came / And with a sound like white magic caught in a black car's blazing trail'. The last line proves Khan's mastery as a songwriter and perhaps could define some of the tracks on Two Suns best, for this album is quite magical. Khan's velvety voice teeters on the edge of self-reflection and aloud musings, the melancholy settling in on every song on this album, but without making it want to slit your wrists. It combines piano and violin instrumentals with electro pop synths on some songs and tribal drum beats on others. She even displays an alter ego of sorts called Pearl, which is said to be a more hedonistic, femme fatale version of Khan, and the song 'Pearl's Dream' displays this other side of her 'where the starry me needs to be free'. However, this alter ego does not have much space on the album, with tracks like 'Daniel' and 'Glass' proving much stronger. Despite the gloomy nature of the songs, there isn't an eclipse in sight for Two Suns - the must buy of the year.

*****Get it NOW!
****Just get it
***Maybe maybe not
**Just download the best song
*Forget that this was made