Bat for Lashes bats 1.000

For an artist who draws comparisons to such preternatural performers as Bjork, Kate Bush and Tori Amos, Natasha Khan was remarkably down-to-earth during her show at the Troubadour on Tuesday. And though the Englishwoman has acquired the shorthand image of a folk-pop pagan priestess, the prominent impression from her hourlong set was that of a gifted and serious artisan with an easy way of connecting to her audience.

There are reasons for that image. Khan performs under the esoteric name Bat for Lashes, and her music is colored by medieval flourishes. On Tuesday she did pound the floor with a wooden staff during one song, and she and her three Renaissance Faire-fashioned female accompanists did suggest a coven as much as a pop band. But those elements were part of a sound and presentation that never seemed precious or self-consciously antique. Primarily acoustic but enhanced by electronic beats and electric guitar, the music, most of it from her debut album “Fur and Gold,” was flavorful, melodic and varied.

Khan and bandmate Abi Fry might have been pounding primitive drums to open “What’s a Girl to Do,” but the beat was pure “Be My Baby.” On a new song she introduced, Khan played electric bass while two electric guitars formed a restless, surging environment reminiscent of David Bowie art-rock. On a more intimate level, Khan’s delicate original “Sad Eyes” and her version of Tom Waits’ “Lonely” brought the crowd to hushed attention.

Khan, 28, has come to prominence quickly in England since last year’s release of “Fur and Gold,” which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. It will be slower going in the U.S., but she had an avid cult on hand Tuesday, and the powerful voice and effortless rapport she displayed should help expand it.

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richard.cromelin@latimes.com