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''Two Suns'' is the second studio album by English singer Natasha Khan, known professionally as
Bat for Lashes Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released five studio albums: '' Fur and Gold'' (2006), ''Two Suns'' (2009), '' The Hau ...
. It was released on 3 April 2009 by
The Echo Label The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI. In 2005, The Echo Label recorded a ...
and
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
. The album was produced by Khan herself and
David Kosten Faultline is the musical alter ego of producer and artist David Kosten. Working under the name Faultline, Kosten produced the largely instrumental debut ''Closer, Colder'' and the follow up ''Your Love Means Everything'', which featured guest ...
(who also worked on her debut album ''
Fur and Gold Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...
''), and features collaborations with members of
Yeasayer Yeasayer () was an American experimental rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2006. The band consisted of Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder. They announced their split on December 19, 2019. History Formation The band's thr ...
and Scott Walker. ''Two Suns'' was recorded in segments in California, New York City, London, Brighton and Wales. Upon its release, ''Two Suns'' was met with positive reviews from most critics. Additionally, it was shortlisted for the
Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
in 2009, Khan's second nomination after ''Fur and Gold'' in 2007. On 31 July 2009, ''Two Suns'' was
certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
gold by the
British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...
(BPI), for shipments of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. It debuted at number two on '' Billboard''s Heatseekers Albums chart and has sold 56,000 copies in United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As of June 2012, the album had sold 250,000 copies worldwide.


Concept

According to the accompanying press release, ''Two Suns'' is "a record of modern-day fables exploring dualities on a number of levels—two lovers, two planets, two sides of a personality", bringing reflection about "the philosophy of the self and duality, examining the need for both chaos and balance, for both love and pain, in addition to touching on
metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
ideas concerning the connections between all existence." In ''Two Suns'', Khan also presents an alter ego named Pearl, described by the press release as "a destructive, self-absorbed, blonde, femme fatale of a persona who acts as a direct foil to Khan's more mystical, desert-born spiritual self."


Promotion

" Daniel" was released on 1 March 2009 as the album's lead single, reaching number 36 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. Both "Siren Song" and the 909s in DarkTimes mix of " Sleep Alone" were featured in the first season of the American television series ''
The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, ...
'', while only the latter was included on the series' soundtrack album. The song "Glass" was used in the trailer for the 2012 video game '' Assassin's Creed III: Liberation''.


Critical reception

''Two Suns'' received generally positive reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
score of 76, based on 32 reviews. Kevin Liedel of '' Slant Magazine'' called it "dark, but never needlessly so", and wrote that it "offers a rich, distinct world of subterranean lullabies, spacey timbres, and ghostly beauty." Mark Pytlik of ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' called it a "significant step forward from her debut" and "home to some of the year's most thrilling music so far." Tim Chester of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' described ''Two Suns'' as "a brilliant pop album", commenting that it is "epic in scope and ambition and requires a similarly epic patience to unravel its charms". Barry Walters of '' Spin'' wrote that "this art-rock
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...
gushes duality motifs that thwart narrative but overflow with moonstruck sensuality." ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
''s Sean O'Neal commented that "Khan's sublime voice easily distracts from any lyrical ponderousness, and it lends even lines about 'diamonds burning through rainbows' a dreamy sort of sense." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s Dorian Lynskey called it "fantastic as well as fantastical", noting that " ereas her debut relied on charisma and imagination to paper over the songwriting cracks, 'Two Suns''is agleam with striking melodies". Melissa Maerz of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' felt that " mehow, the music melts away the potential for hokeyness ... Khan proves she's a powerhouse under her billowy sleeves."
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
's Heather Phares complimented Khan's "considerable skills at telling a story and setting a mood", but critiqued that "the album's massive concepts and sounds require a little more time and patience to unravel to get to the songs' hearts. It's clear that Khan's talent and ambition are both huge". ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' Erin Lyndal Martin felt that Khan "can do much better than some of the songs, which are weakened by synths, sophomoric lyrics, and sonic clutter." Martin continued, "While the weaker songs are definitely not throwaways, they miss the mark in more than one way." Andy Gill of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' found its "patina and keyboard tones" "blander" than ''Fur and Gold''s music and said that it is difficult to "take Khan's stories seriously when she slips into blather about 'a stranger in a strange land' and 'a vast and unknowable universe'." Robert Christgau of
MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History I ...
found her "as ill-informed about astronomy as she is about love" and the musical experimentation "unworthy of your brainlength". ''Slant Magazine'' placed the album at number 97 on its list of the best albums of the 2000s decade.


Track listing


Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Two Suns''.


Musicians

*
Natasha Khan Natasha (russian: Наташа) is a name of Slavic origin. The Slavic name is the diminutive form of Natalia. Notable people * Natasha, the subject of '' Natasha's Story'', a 1994 nonfiction book * Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican s ...
– lead vocals ; backing vocals ; synths ; drum programming ; guitar ; piano ;
harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...
; handclaps ; percussion ; string machine ; drums ; bass synth ; vibraphone ; organ * Ben Christophers
Marxophone The Marxophone is a fretless zither played via a system of metal hammers. It features two octaves of double melody strings in the key of C major (middle C to C''), and four sets of chord strings (C major, G major, F major, and D7). Sounding s ...
, pianochord ; synths ; guitar ;
phonofiddle A phonofiddle is a class of stringed musical instruments that are played with a bow and use a phonograph type reproducer as a voice-box. The sound producing diaphragm may be a metal cone as in the Stroh violin or a mica sheet as in the instruments ...
* Caroline Weeks – backing vocals ; synths, bells ; flute ; handclaps, percussion * Kath Mann – backing vocals,
saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...
; violin ; viola *
Alex Thomas Alex Thomas (born 10 October 1978) is an English drummer from Lutterworth, Leicestershire, who performs with Squarepusher and Air. He also performed with John Cale (2013). Thomas joined Bolt Thrower on 21 August 1997. He played drums on ''Merce ...
– drums ; percussion ; timpani *
David Kosten Faultline is the musical alter ego of producer and artist David Kosten. Working under the name Faultline, Kosten produced the largely instrumental debut ''Closer, Colder'' and the follow up ''Your Love Means Everything'', which featured guest ...
– drum programming ; synths ; percussion ; synth drone ; toms,
fingers A finger is a limb of the body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of most of the Tetrapods, so also with humans and other primates. Most land vertebrates have five fingers (Pentadactyly). Chambers 1 ...
*
Abi Fry Abigail Helen Fry (born 1981) is an English violist and Bafta award-winning composer. She plays with various acts including Sea Power, Bat for Lashes, The Flowers of Hell, Sad Season and Euchrid Eucrow. Fry grew up in Ealing, West London and re ...
– viola * Adem – sampled wine glasses * Ira Wolf Tuton – bass * Chris Keating – drum programming * Devin Maxwell –
timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...
* Devon Dunaway – backing vocals * Robert Roseberry Jr. – backing vocals * Lydia Rhodes – backing vocals * Marcie Allen – backing vocals * Rachael Sell – backing vocals * Brian Hale – guitar * Louis P. Rogai Jr. – backing vocals * Tom Asselin – guitar * Scott Walker – additional vocals


Technical

* Natasha Khan – production ; engineering * David Kosten – production, engineering ; mixing * David Wrench – engineering * Mark Eastwood – mixing assistance * Brian Thorn – engineering assistance * Mike Nesci – engineering * Matt Boynton – engineering * Tim Bader – engineering assistance * Tom Asselin – engineering * Matt Lawrence – vocal recording (Scott Walker's vocals)


Artwork

* Natasha Khan – art direction, booklet artwork, concept *
David Benjamin Sherry David Benjamin Sherry (born in 1981) is an American artist. Sherry's work consists primarily of large format film photography, focusing on landscape and portraiture, as well as photograms and painting, and has been exhibited in New York, Los Ang ...
– cover photography * Tony Hornecker – set design * Andrew Murabito – graphic design * Dan Sanders – photographic production


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Notes


References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Bat for Lashes albums Parlophone albums