Natasha Kahn, or Bat For Lashes as she is better known, appears completely nude on the cover of her new album, The Haunted Man, (with the obvious bits covered up of course), and whilst the album has received near universal praise from critics, it has also whipped up quite a storm due to the ‘explicit’ cover.

In light of this controversy, Kahn has admitted that she herself is thoroughly shocked at the amount of criticism the album cover has garnered, citing the fact that the music industry is awash with overtly sexual representation of women, so then why should her album cover be any different.

Speaking to Spinner magazine, she went on to add, "I think it freaks people out because I've got no makeup on, there's no retouching. It's super-raw and wild and black and white. But that's what Patti Smith did, that's what PJ Harvey did, that's what all the coolest people have done, from my icons anyway."

Unapologetic by Rihanna and Teenage Dream by Katy Perry are two recent example to feature the stars appearing nude on the album cover, but covered in the right places, with both albums receiving next to no comment.

The Haunted Man will be released on October 23, 2012 via Parlophone.