If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what history will look like many years from now. Here at Hillydilly, we believe the world is currently undergoing a musical renaissance (of a few varieties, mind you), and while we wake up each day, grateful that there are so many creative minds manufacturing incredible music in this moment of time, the reality is that the movement might not last, that is, unless there continues to be a steady supply of coinage behind the acts we see. Of course, this creates a bit of a conflict of interest—as acts start to emanate as much out of money as artistic adeptness—and a sometimes-unfairly perceived "mainstream" occurs as a result, but, this is as natural as it is oft-unfortunate, and we've to curtail our complaints as a result. So, where does BANKS come in to all of this? (Surely, you didn't think we were going to forget about the artist in her own post, did you?) Well, with any movement, there are typically many small victories that must be won, and we're betting that BANKS is going to put another point on the board for good music here with her album, popular or not (spoiler alert: it's going to be popular). In case you've been living under a rock, you're probably aware that the Los Angeles-based songstress has already released a hefty number of songs from her new album (nine, to be exact), but she's done this with good reason, because almost every one of these songs has chalked up at least a million plays on SoundCloud—helping propel BANKS' popularity to towering heights. And now, after accumulating hype for over a year, she's finally letting loose her debut album, Goddess, that could very well vault itself into the eyes and ears of many folks—mainstream lovers especially. As we previously stated, BANKS has already released nine songs from the album, so if you've been following her avidly for the past year, you might be somewhat disappointed with the fact that there are only five new tracks to take a look into. However, don't be too upset, because each new song is indeed up to BANKS' incredibly high standards (as expected), and we can now listen to the entire album from start to finish, receiving the full story that BANKS has crafted so sweetly for us. So, even if you've already listened to the previously released tracks, we recommend allowing the album to flow from start to finish, because the resulting sonic journey is definitely one you're not going to want to miss. One of the new tracks on the album, "You Should Know Where I'm Coming From", is a powerful, heartfelt ballad which begins with nothing more than BANKS' breathtaking vocals over some piano chords, but eventually, incorporates melancholic violin and heavy percussion that amounts to an awe-inspiring track. On a bit of a different note, our next new selection, "Fuck Em Only We Know", is a smooth electronic tune, featuring production from one of her go-to producers, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. Our final new pick is "Under the Table", an utterly gorgeous track that reveals a softer side of BANKS' vocals, yet still progresses in the piano-to-violin manner that we saw her use wonderfully before. We pretty much knew it already, but now we have full confirmation of the fact that BANKS' Goddess is undoubtedly one of the biggest releases of the year. With an all-star lineup of producers behind her, notably: SOHN, Lil Silva, and Shlohmo, there's absolutely nothing stopping BANKS from being the next queen of pop. She's given the music world (mainstream and otherwise) an opportunity to take another step in the right direction, and we can only hope that music lovers of all kinds can give this masterpiece the attention and appreciation that it so truly deserves. Goddess is available for purchase now on iTunes.
BANKS