It is true that I knew and liked Bank's music before now. However, I found her previous album, Goddess, to be a bit tiring to listen to; it didn't have a lot of highs, and the darkness just seemed a bit shallow to me, with the exception of a few songs. However, the three songs released before this album: "Gemini Feed", "F*ck with Myself", and "Mind Games" all had me craving more, hyping up this album so much for me. And now that it's finally here, I can share my opinions of Banks' creation.
The first track, the familiar "Gemini Feed", is a work of art that I've been listening to nonstop since before the album came out. Heavy bass and distorted synths serve as the backdrop for Banks' emotional verses and choruses. This song showcases Banks' vocal range amazingly, with her almost gravelly, lower range in the verses, and her raw higher range at the choruses, This song sounds almost surreal, with Banks belting "And to think you would get me to the altar / Like I'd follow you around like a dog that needs water". This track is a breathtaking start to the album.
The first thing that stands out on the second track, "F*ck with Myself", is the bizarre, almost witch-like production, with isolated strings and heavy bass. The strange lyrics obviously have different meaning for whoever; it could be a mantra about confidence, or it could be about how Banks always seems to screw herself over, in her opinion. She switches between her high and low registers on just about every other line, creating a captivating rhythm. This metaphor-filled track lives up to the precedent that "Gemini Feed" sets in a way that no one could've expected.
Though the first two tracks were more upbeat, "Lovesick" tones it down. Banks almost coos the lyrics of this sweeter track, staying at more of a medium vocal tone. As the track progresses, more and more layers of vocals are added, leading to countless voices all clamoring over each other at the end. To some this may be off-putting, but I think that this really captures the true meaning of the "Lovesick" confusion that Banks is portraying in this song. Though this track isn't quite as captivating or interesting as the previous, it certainly holds its own.
"Mind Games" is a dark, dangerous track, wracked with Banks' emotion; the most raw song so far. The deep bass and the distorted synths and vocals that make up the instrumental lend to the desperate feeling that Banks is portraying in this song. She sadly sings of her vulnerablities "And if I walk away, I'm scared I won't find other muses" in the verses, and she lets all of her doubts surface in the explosive choruses; she belts out "Do you see me now?".
"Trainwreck" comes as a huge surprise, a dark pop track with obvious rap influences and very hard production. The chorus is amazingly catchy, as she almost rap-sings "Hey, I heard it from the state/They told me that you were never gonna let me get away". The verses are structured a bit strange; the words crowd each other, but I only think that this improves the track. Even better on this track is how much emotion Banks fits into her voice; all of the previous songs have had emotional highs and lows, but the rage that Banks uses to belt out the chorus amazes me. This song is certainly a keeper; almost a perfect model of what "urban pop" would look like.
"This is Not About Us" is a lot more chill than the previous tracks. Banks wraps her voice with auto-tune in the verses to give it a bit more of an edge, a trick that she uses quite often. It's not bad, Britney Spears type of autotune, as Banks has proven that she can sing live, and I find this style of vocal effect to be quite good. However, I find the production in this song lacking; the, uh, noises that it makes in the chorus are annoying, and this song doesn't have that delicate balance of highs and lows that Banks will usually implement in her tracks. This song certainly isn't bad, but it's not that good, either.
"Weaker Girl" picks up the slack that "This is Not About Us" created. It's almost a direct creation from the thoughts in "F*ck with Myself", as she confidently sings "I think you need a weaker girl/cause I'ma need a bad motherf*cker like me." This song oozes of infectious self-confidence in the very best way, of how it's always important to put yourself first sometimes. Moreover, Banks showcases her higher range in this song then previously, This song ends perfectly, with a long, chilling orchestral outro.
This outro merges splendidly with the next song, "Mother Earth". This track is a much lower tempo, with a very simple and sweet acoustic instrumental. It almost sounds like a folk song, and it's a nice contrast from the rest of the album. This song obviously means a lot to Banks, as the lyrics talk about Banks' depression and the healing after it. I enjoy the softer sound to this one, and "Weaker Girl" is a good prequel to it.
"Judas" is a song of betrayal with hip-hop influences. Banks' gravelly verses contrast wonderfully with the simple and vengeful chorus. "Judas" is filled with wordplay, from the masterfully delivered "Too dumb to deal/too numb to feel/ the knife in my back", to the insanely clever reference in the second verse "Beggin me for thread/ I think you need a change of brain". The hard beat, the savage, angry verses, and the way that Banks' voice switches between highs and lows, on both the main and supporting vocals, makes "Judas" one of the many amazing tracks on the album. The long, bass-heavy outro also helps listeners connect with Banks better.
"Haunt" has a very interesting instrumental, with obvious tribal influences and a lot of sliced vocals clips. Banks details an ex-lover who is trying to get back with her simply to stroke his ego, and she does it so well. She sings "But I wish you would've cheated on me/ Cause at least I wouldn't have you haunting me". As the song goes on, a male voice joins in, singing with her, and this contrast works really well. Banks starts to sing with so much more emotion in the bridge, while the male voice sounds almost bored. This song certainly isn't the best on the album; it doesn't really have any highs, and the instrumental seems a bit out of place, but "Haunt" is a good song regardless.
"Poltergeist" is yet another standout. It's a dark R&B song. The choruses almost seem calm as Banks passionately sings "You've mistaken all of my mistakes for my crooked nature". But the verses are what really stand out, with extremely distorted groans after every line that capture the essence of the "Poltergeist" in this song; lines like "Oh my god, I think I saw a ghost" are sandwiched between the bizarre groans. The second verse trumps the first verse, as Banks uses her higher range to sound even more desperate and emotive, while the groans just go on. The bridge simply consists of syncopated and strange chopped vocals, only adding more to the wonderful strangeness of this track. The groans in this song could take some getting used to, depending on the person, however; this fact itself has to bump this track down a few notches.
"To The Hilt" is a sad, raw ballad, where Banks finally acknowledges the grief after a breakup due to her newfound fame from Goddess. The grief that Banks feels is infectious, but sadly, this track just doesn't stand up to what Banks could do with a ballad. I couldn't help but feel bored as the song went on and on(the longest song on the album), and the pre-chorus is disappointing. There is such a thing as too minimalistic. Despite all of this, I think that I'd love to see this song performed live.
The final track, "27 Hours", ends the album in the best way possible. At first it seems like another boring song, with a simply piano instrumental at the start. As the intro starts to slowly ramp up, as Banks piles on the feelings of vulnerability and self-blame, the listeners can't help but feel anticipation. They wonder if their anticipation would be sated, or if it would just build into a boring and low-key chorus like a lot of the tracks off of Goddess. As Banks reaches the chorus, belting out "Baby, murder was the case!" the song explodes. And I mean, really explodes. The production unleashes, with powerful, thundering brass bursting out. These, coupled with Banks' powerful voice wailing over the instrumental chorus, gave me some of the most powerful chills that I've ever had to music. After the chorus, the song tones it back a bit, but not to the level of the first verse; the distorted synths continue to play in the instrumental. This is the track that Banks really lets loose on, where she shows off her highs in the raw, emotional bridge, her lows in the verses, and her belting prowess, as she desperately cries out "It's been 27 hours/ since we even saw the sun". Undoubtedly one of the best tracks on the album.
Overall, I obviously loved this album. However, it does have some flaws. For one, the track order could use a bit of work; the contrasts can be off-putting sometimes. For two, the fact that this album is devoid of features seems strange. I think that a male voice would perfectly contrast Banks. The Weeknd would be a perfect collaborator, but that's a bit lofty. Finally, another upbeat dark pop song like "Trainwreck" would work out perfectly well imo.
Still, I can't hate on this album too much. It's certainly so enjoyable and I loved listening to it again and again. It's so amazingly diverse and I think that it sets the stage for Banks to become an alternative great, like Grimes or maybe even FKA Twigs. This might be my album of the year so far. Thank you for taking me to "The Altar", Banks.
Best Tracks: Everything, except....
Not so Good Tracks: Haunt, To The Hilt, Poltergeist (maybe?)
Final Verdict:
90/100
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