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The Bride
by
The Bride Image
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 50 Ratings

  • Summary: The fourth full-length release for Natasha Khan is a concept album about a woman who takes her honeymoon trip alone after her fiance was killed just before their wedding.
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Top Track

In God's House
In God's house I do wait For my love on our wedding day Dewy eyes and lashes long For my love Then I'm feeling something's wrong What's this I... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. No Ripcord
    Jul 7, 2016
    90
    With The Bride, Khan has created a sublime tale of sorrow and recovery, of accepting loss and working through pain to become a stronger person. Likewise, Khan has taken her interest in similar journeys from earlier albums and used them to make her most consistently captivating work thus far.
  2. The Line of Best Fit
    Jun 30, 2016
    85
    This is also her most musically subtle and lyrically direct album to date.
  3. Record Collector
    Jun 27, 2016
    80
    Far from instant, spectral in feel and altogether dark in tone, The Bride is a challenge--although one with glorious pay-offs. Fans expecting the poppier sheen of Daniel or What’s A Girl To Do? might be disappointed, its treasures lie just beneath its surface.
  4. The Guardian
    Jun 30, 2016
    80
    Barring Sunday Love--an electropop episode that movingly echoes the melody of Khan’s best-known track, Daniel--this is a collection of darkly intriguing dirges, a battle for dominance between Khan’s intimate, exquisitely beautiful vocal and subtly unnerving sonic dissonance at its heart.
  5. The A.V. Club
    Jul 1, 2016
    75
    The most memorable song from the back half of the album, “In Your Bed,” sounds like it could have come from a different set of songs, judging by its lyrics.) As a result, The Bride goes past dreamy and into lullaby territory after a while, and the listener’s engagement with the music may drift off as well.
  6. musicOMH.com
    Jul 5, 2016
    70
    Some may write it off as one-paced (and they’d have a point), but there are moments of heartache and beauty here that will be hard to touch in 2016.
  7. Boston Globe
    Jul 1, 2016
    50
    Further songs follow suit, rarely deviating from verse-chorus-verse-chorus rigor. The upbeat “Sunday Love” breaks that mold with its rhythmically catchy verse and earworm chorus, which almost hides the fact that the song--about the would-be bride seeing a girl everywhere she goes--repeats the album’s most common problem: It’s unclear just what the song is about, and how it relates to the core concept.

See all 31 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. MarceloPandlr
    Jun 17, 2018
    10
    bat for lashes is a legend of alternative
    i love you queen
    comeback please!!
  2. RGHunter
    Sep 11, 2019
    9
    This in fact my least favorite album from Natasha, yeah it's beautiful, but i wouldn't play some of the tracks again by myself unless theyThis in fact my least favorite album from Natasha, yeah it's beautiful, but i wouldn't play some of the tracks again by myself unless they come up random on my playlist cuz they're too repetitive to match the whole concept and it gets tired.
    In God's House, Sunday Love, Close Encounters & In Your Bed are the Highlights for me.    … Expand
  4. Mesmerize
    Aug 9, 2016
    7
    7.57.5
    zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz    … Expand
  5. DENIS-LESNIK
    Oct 15, 2016
    7
    Я думаю, что в каком-то смысле этот альбом является шагом вперед для Bat For Lashes Читать далееЯ думаю, что в каком-то смысле этот альбом является шагом вперед для Bat For Lashes Читать далее http://muztravel.by/news/852-bat-for-lashes-the-bride.html… Expand
  6. Tom_Bombadil
    Sep 29, 2016
    6
    Often when artists focus on the concept more than on the music things don't go well. You can argue this albums problems derive from thatOften when artists focus on the concept more than on the music things don't go well. You can argue this albums problems derive from that reason: it's oddly structured in a way that it sounds more forced than anything else, there are entire strings of songs devoid of ideas to begin with, and most of the album is written in a monotonous stream of consciousness-style that makes for a boring and/or not very rewarding listen.

    Still, I can see plenty of moments of sheer prettiness hidden here and there: the harp arrangement in the intro track and the way Natasha Khan sings with very honest emotion -and impressive technique- over it, the chorus melody of "Joe's Dream" (which is easily the album's most obvious pick for a single), and the evocative Björk impersonation on "Close Encounters" with the strings going from chaos to order in surreal ways. It's very obvious to me that Natasha has the talent required to pull this off, but more effort was wasted on telling the story than in finding cool ways to deliver said story.    … Expand
  7. longjetty7
    Jul 4, 2016
    6
    I think in some ways this album is a step forward for Bat for Lashes, while in other ways it's a step backward.

    I'll start with the good:    I think in some ways this album is a step forward for Bat for Lashes, while in other ways it's a step backward.

    I'll start with the good: Her voice sounds as beautiful as always. It's always a treat to hear her sing with so much emotion, and she really delivers on each and every song. The production is subtle, yet surprisingly intricate. Songs like Widow's Peak demand you listen with headphones, or you'll miss so much of what's going on. The music is very atmospheric and sort of ambient, but it's crafted with care and much attention to detail, which I certainly appreciate.

    And now the not so good: As with many other concept albums, The Bride starts off with interesting material, but eventually stretches its concept too thin. After a while it seems like some of the songs were written out of necessity, just to stick with the whole wedding concept. There are lots of slow, ethereal songs, which make sense in context of the story, but in terms of enjoyability for the listener, they really make the album drag on, especially in the back half. It's a bit disappointing because I know Bat for Lashes can write amazing songs when she wants to. Joe's Dream is stunningly beautiful, and Sunday Love is catchy as hell, but these standout tracks sort of feel misplaced amongst the others. I really wish she had kept the energy going throughout the entire album, and had focused more attention on making the music interesting (such as In God's House), rather than just repeating the same simple motifs over and over again, as she does on many of the slower songs.

    Overall, The Bride is kind of a mixed bag. There are some beautiful moments and a lot of artistry which I can respect, but I do feel like there was potential for this album to be so much better.    … Expand

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