Bat for Lashes – The Dream of Delphi Review

Parental woes and a desire for naturalistic connections are a common theme running through this year. Artists are desperate to reconnect with the outside world. They shuffle from the doorstep of their second home and feel the grass between their feet. Inspired by this they lock the door behind them and piece together thoughts on the outside world. A brief encounter, some distant flutter of life outdoors is enough to carry through this interpretation of the world around them. How quickly it changes when life happens. Bat for Lashes adapts and reacts to childbirth and their early years in an album of parallels and electronic jitters. The Dream of Delphi holds within this hope of a welcoming future but the realities and pangs of ambient disconnect hint at the darker scope.  

Expected notes for the future come through this time capsule of an album. The Dream of Delphi is an inevitably personal collection of tracks. Letter To My Daughter may settle as the most obvious of all this. A dependable tone, the gifted realisations of heavy days ahead are laid down on these tracks but they lack an honesty found elsewhere. Warmth comes naturally to Bat for Lashes. Where it settles best is in the instrumental showcases, the likes of At Your Feet which demonstrate an unending love for their child. But it never moves on from that and as particular, as neat as the piano playing is, it feels distant. There is a softer flourish to The Dream of Delphi which is certainly welcomed as a part of making peace with Bat for Lashes’ previous efforts, but where this album works best is in puncturing the tranquillity. There is no guarantee of peace no matter how many tracks Bat for Lashes may make to strengthen this tone.  

Puncturing the healthy state Bat for Lashes finds herself occupied with is heard on Home. There is a return to the scene of hopeful encounters and unrequited love. Why leave in the first place? Distance between the heart and head is accounted for in this piece and makes for an engaged and fiery experience. Breaking Up is the real highlight. Its saxophone dominates the tone and those deep electrics, as soft as they are, still boom away in the background. Intensity like this comes from the heart and Bat for Lashes at their best is reactionary. The Dream of Delphi holds firm on this. Delphi Dancing confirms the tonal clash and as the hopeful piano eases away and into this echoed silence, Bat for Lashes comes to life.  

An insurmountable rise in quality comes in the latter stages of The Dream of Delphi. Consistently searching for an admirable and effective way to chart love for your flesh and blood is intense. Within those ghostly cries of Her First Morning or the constant, carrying piano is an overwhelming surge. It feels somewhat like the reflection and love found in Something in the Room She Moves by Julia Holter. Skilfully weaving these pangs of guilt with an overwhelming urge to love makes for a wonderful experience. The Dream of Delphi certainly takes its time to grow but those who stick with it are in for a shattering experience.