Natasha and co are a little mischievous, don’t you think so? They hid treasures in a fluffy thing (FUR) and a hard thing (GOLD), saying to us, “Let’s enjoy finding treasures!” Natasha Khan expresses her world without any hesitation, although her world is so unique and exotic that it is not so easy for us to understand. However, the band’s sounds and Natasha’s voice lead listeners with invisible hands, and listeners are involved in Natasha’s world before they know it. Perhaps, that is why they won National Mercury Prize.

You may think at first that each song has similar tune but, as you listen to the album again and again, you will find that each song has its own characteristic. Maybe because of sensibility of song-writer Natasha Khan, songs are quite talkative. Even without clear understanding of English, sad songs, like “sad eyes”, sound sad and light-hearted songs, like “Bat’s mouth”, sound light. Natasha does not seem to try to embellish her melodies and lyrics and the band plays Natasha’s songs in unaffected way. Its genuine sounds and voices prevent this album from being monotonous. Still, this is just a so-so album for me. You may feel as if you listened through the album while you were dreaming.

To finish the review, let me pick a hole in the album. FUR AND GOLD is neither good nor bad, because it is just too-perfectly made for a debut album. A debut album can be amateurish or unrefined, and that shows a great promise of a band. FUR AND GOLD just lacks those promising shortcomings...
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