Under her enigmatic moniker Bat for Lashes, Natasha Khan has meticulously crafted another album of ethereal, evocative music best for listening while reading Simone de Beauvoir in the bath. This time around, though, Khan has polished her arrangements and fleshed out her sound, filling “The Haunted Man” with lush instrumentation to support the words of a more mature, surefooted songwriter. Though shades of Tori Amos and Björk have always colored her work, Khan cuts the fairy dust with a harder, alternative edge that sets her apart from other female musicians of the same pageantry. Khan takes the same skill for innovation to the mournful piano ballad and lead single “Laura” and the ironically restless beat of electronica track “Rest Your Head.” Across the board, “The Haunted Man” stands as Khan’s strongest album to date.

Grade: B