Banks (AKA Jillian Banks) over the years has been an artist that's absolutely fascinated me. With the release of her first album 'Goddess" way back in 2014, critics and fans were really divided on the album. A lot of people found it underwhelming given just how much hype there was leading up to it. Not to mention, a lot of the tracks from "Goddess" weren't new tracks at all, and appeared on early EP's and singles. That being said, I'm a huge fan of "Goddess". While I absolutely understand people's gripes with it, I can't help to fall in love with the bass heavy, moody, dark alternative R&B sound of it. The singles leading up to her newest album, "The Altar" shocked me though. It sounded like Banks was much more confident in her voice, but was also going for a much pop-oriented sound. Let's chat about "The Altar".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twix375Me4Q
(Still give me chills)
The album starts off with “Gemini Feed”, which as far as a single goes from Banks, it may be the best one here. The beat immediately is clearly more playful and easy on the ears than anything she's been on in the past. The beat is almost sweet if it wasn’t for that dark edge that Banks always seems to be trailing Banks. The playfulness of the beat however may be the only real new element when it comes to “Gemini Feed” though. As far as the mood goes, Banks is still her same old self, and the bass that eventually booms its way in is directly out of “Goddess”’s book. That all being said though, this may be one of Banks’s easiest to swallow singles. She’s always had a very harsh alternative R&B sound, which in some cases can be really tough to get into. “Gemini Feed” on the other hand is just a single that showcases Banks for who she is, and contains some of her catchiest moments. Banks is one hell of a singer, but it was kind of hard to tell at times on “Goddess” due to her clinging to vocal effects for dear life. Here though she really breaks out of that and shines as a great singer. The vocal effects are still present, but on “Gemini Feed” they fit the mood perfectly, but I can totally understand if people find them annoying. But right away this album takes a huge nosedive with the much more obnoxious single of “Fuck With Myself”. I give it credit, this one is at least unsettling, I’m not used to hearing Banks on such a small, minimal beat. In a way, that’s a really great thing for Banks, she needs to occasionally step back and get on a less flashy beat to showcase some of those singin’ skills. But lyrically this track is just so bland, as she goes for this whole big statement about paranoia that’s literally been done dozens of times. The verses here are just awful, and some of the deeper vocal effects just come off as awkward. The chorus though is solid enough to hold my interest, but overall Banks is going for a much more abrasive, experimental sound. This absolutely sounds like a beat that FKA Twigs would land on in a heartbeat. Hell Banks even a stab at those whispered, hurt vocals that Twigs has become so famous for. No, “Fuck With Myself” isn’t the worst track here, but I expect more. “Lovesick” is up next and is a huge improvement, with an even more minimal beat. In this case though, it’s a little too minimal, as on this one I can seriously use a nice shot of bass. Banks however saves this one with a sleek atmosphere and a very sexy mood (seriously Banks can create insanely sexy moods when she puts her mind to it). She always seems to be painting herself as this “tragically in love” character, almost in the same light that Lana Del Rey does (without the drugs though, for the most part). Banks though pulls that character off very well. “Lovesick” is a solid tune, I just wish the beat got going a little sooner and maybe there were one or two more interesting lines here and there. Up next though is another fine single, “Mind Games”, which compared to other singles here literally sounds directly off of “Goddess”, at least at first. The beat here is a ghastly one, with the only thing shedding even the slightest bit of light here is Banks’s vocals. She was always so shrouded in mystery on her previous material, but “The Altar” as a whole really has her stepping out of the shadows and showing off herself more. The chorus on “Mind Games” is powerful, and as a whole this may be one of the pop-oriented tracks she’s ever touched. It’s a strange track, one that doesn’t give away too much at all and always seems to be creeping along slowly. However Banks absolutely slays on this beat, hitting some eye opening high notes hear and there as well. Overall, it’s a very good single, and a solid tune to introduce people to Banks to with. These slow burning alternative R&B/pop tunes are where Banks shines the most, take for example “To The Hilt” late in the album. Some of these intros give away so little, as Banks has you on the edge of your seat ready to see which direction she's going to go in. While she sounds absolutely incredible vocally, lyrically I wanted to bring this track up for a reason, and we’re going to go a lot deeper into this soon. Banks lyrically needs an entire revamping. SHE sounds amazing, and keeps pushing her musical sound out into great new areas. Lyrically though, she hasn’t matured a bit, and is still writing the same tracks off of “Goddess” I feel like. And it’s a shame because everything else adds up, especially on “To The Hilt”. Her vocal performance here is absolutely stunning, with a lyrical shift she can absolutely become a gigantic star in her genre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7z-tA9oLPw
Banks though throughout “The Altar” really drifts into a more pop oriented sound plenty of times and to be honest it really works great for her. Take for example the early track “Trainwreck”. Immediately this is clearly the most upbeat track I’ve ever heard Banks produce. It’s not going to be for everyone, there are going to be plenty that hear this and immediately think that Banks went pop star on us. Personally though, I find it a refreshing change of pace, and a darn catchy one at that. Banks has become so much more comfortable with herself and her singing voice the last few years. The chorus she provides s with here is a darn feisty one, where once again Banks paints herself as the “bad girl” (even though she rarely backs that up or gives us examples). However, “Trainwreck” overall works for Banks so much and it’s just so interesting to hear her on such an upbeat track. On the other hand, “This Is Not About Us”, is just as upbeat but kinda misses overall. On this track, there are once again way too many vocal effects to the point where they're completely working against Banks. “This Is Not About Us” isn’t terrible at all, but honestly those vocal effects take a track that’s supposed to be serious and makes it just corny overall. The instrumentals here though are really solid on the other hand, especially that driving synth behind Banks for the verses. Things even get better late into the track when these tribal like drums come in. Overall “This Is Not About Us” is far from unlistenable, but those vocal effects just brought it down a few notches. Well I’ve been pretty easy on Banks so far, now it’s time for some major complaints. “Mother Earth” Banks? What the hell were you thinking? When your having a slump filling in the pieces of the middle of your album, the last thing you should do is attempt an acoustic track. ESPECIALLY when you’re trying to build your name in the alternative R&B field. “Mother Earth” sounds like it crept out of the darkest corner of the 90’s. Lyrically, I get where she's coming from, I really do. But everything else about this one is just awful, and easily one of the most cringe-worthy songs I’ve heard all year. “Weaker Girl” realistically isn’t much better. We start off with even more vocal effects that are doing a grand total of nothing at this point. Some of the darker, heavier tracks here are welcomed to use all the vocal effects in the world, but on a more minimal sounding track like this it just gets suffocating and absolutely distracting. Once again, Banks is putting on her best “Tough Girl” act, which I really don’t understand. Here she constantly describes herself as a “Bad motherfucker”, so tell me what makes you so “Bad”. Maybe if we got an example or two for once, it wouldn’t bother me nearly as much. Here, Bank’s vocals don’t even sound confident in the slightest, if they’re supposed to sound that way for this track that’s one thing, but I doubt it. My main issue with “Weaker Girl” though is that it’s supposed to be this gigantic statement and it BARELY even passes at that. The strings that come in are quite nice though, I’ll give it that. Then we have “Judas” which leads me to another problem I have with Banks. This track starts off fantastic with this great heavy, dark sound. But everything else is just so simple. I feel like more times than not Banks has all the right ingredients for an awesome track, but doesn't go the extra mile to put them all together. The beat to “Judas” has no meat on it, at least for the first portion of the song, it does liven up a little and get quite funky actually. The chorus here is one of the simpler ones on the entire album, but man oh man is it ever effective. I just wish the beat here was more consistent and the verses weren’t so bland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjoFBsBQqtE
Thankfully, Banks ends off the album on a pretty solid note. Take “Haunt” for example, which drives us deep into this much darker sound that I’ve been craving. Sometimes Banks goes for a more darker sound and it just kinda flops, but “Haunt” succeeds on every level. The drums here are absolutely to die for, and the beat is easily the most unsettling thing here. Listening to her last album, I never thought I’d hear Banks on a tribal beat and absolutely killing it like she is. She’s still the same moody Banks, but this more upbeat feel absolutely adds to that and adds for some interesting twists. Meanwhile I have no idea who came up with adding in all these animal sounds, but I can’t get enough of it. Not to mention, her vocals on that refrain are some of her best of the entire album. Anyone who wasn't a fan of Banks’s earlier, more ethereal stuff should really give this a try. “Poltergeist” more or less sounds like a semi-sloppy B-Side from “Goddess”. It absolutely lives up to it’s title with an absolutely ghastly beat. The rest of the track though is just ok, mainly because of how incredibly overproduced this sounds. Not to mention, it’s generic “spooky” tracks like this that I feel are a little goofy, and are just a cheap attempt to cash in on Banks’s image. Finally we have the absolutely stunning conclusion “27 Hours”. It seems like the same old sounding intro, with Banks talking about the same old stuff on a beat that doesn’t give away too much at first. However, when that wall of sound hits and the beat completely evolves, “27 Hours” quickly becomes one of the album’s most memorable moments. I haven’t been this moved physically by a Banks track in ages, with a sound I can only really describe as “Goddess on Steroids”. Here, the vocal effects are gladly welcomed and add so much depth to this one, where in the hell was this sound? But this brings up the question, where is Banks going to go from here now that she's clearly more comfortable with herself? I want an album that sounds like “27 Hours” pronto girl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMa0C5djpGI
Rating : 7.5/10
Give A Listen To: “Gemini Feed”, “Trainwreck”, “27 Hours”, :”Haunt”
Overall Thoughts: Most of this album I think is actually really solid. Banks is so much more comfortable now as a performer, and is really stepping it up as far as vocal performances go. There's also a lot more ear candy and single material as well. But lyric wise, while there isn't a lot of awful stuff happening here, there are so many lyrics here that I feel like Banks has written so many times. Banks's more pop oriented tracks here go over pretty well actually, while on the other hand her more "Goddess" sounding tracks go over solidly as well. There are inconsistencies, but I'm pleased, and very excited to see what Banks does next.
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