Albums revolving around the subject of nascent motherhood are tricky propositions. They can too easily slip into weepy tributes to pristine bundles of flesh or get bogged down in awe-filled self-aggrandizement. After all, is there anything more godlike than creating another human being?
Natasha Khan, a.k.a. Bat for Lashes, largely evades both of these pitfalls on her sixth studio album, Dream of Delphi. The British singer-songwriter gave birth to her first child—Delphi, named after the Greek oracle—at the height of the pandemic, and the self-produced album serves as a humble, meditative tribute to the innate bonds between a mother and her child.
Inspired by French film scores and Japanese ambient music like that of the late Sakamoto Ryuichi, the album’s 10 compositions are lyrically sparse, with a handful eschewing language altogether. The lyrical minimalism of the shoegazy lullaby “Delphi Dancing” conveys the inarticulable emotions of new motherhood—“Mid-life/Hold you/Tight/Softly/Hold me/And Smile”—while the wordless “The Midwives Have Left” captures the quiet, intimate moments shared alone between a mother and her baby.
At times, the simplicity of Khan’s lyrics can leave songs like “At Your Feet” feeling too thinly sketched. The title of “Breaking Up,” a dream-pop-meets-smooth-jazz instrumental similar in style to 2019’s “Vampires,” suggests a pivotal moment in the early days of Khan’s experience as a parent—the singer split with Delphi’s father, Australian actor Samuel Watkins, not long after Delphi’s birth—but we’re never given a glimpse of its impact.
And yet, there’s a tangible undercurrent of impending grief that ripples beneath the surface of the album’s tracks that is, perhaps, reflective of the inherent heartbreak of parenthood: “You’re a gift, though not mine/You’re a gift that I’ll come to give away in time,” Khan says on the lovely but fleeting “Christmas Day.” Like that song, Dream of Delphi as a whole is poignant and dreamily spiritual without ever succumbing to preciousness.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
