The Altar

After a 3 year hiatus Banks finally returned to the music scene with her new project The Altar and frankly I wasn’t expecting much. The album itself has almost trickled out into the world through a series of singles. However, the singles failed to create any sort of buzz about the album and if anything went completely unnoticed by the vast majority of people. So having not heard any of the singles prior to the release of this album and having not heard anyone even mention Banks in about 3 years, I wasn’t expecting much. Having listened to it all the way through I was pleasantly surprised and very happy to have all my preconceptions about this project proven wrong.

The Altar is controlled, addictive and filled with hidden gems. Banks manages to keep the dark, lucid voice which resonated through Goddess and separates her from the other sickly sweet pop acts we are forced to endure on a regular basis on radio. However, with The Altar, Banks displays a far deeper malevolent undertone to her music indicative of a tortured soul. The subject matter is pretty standard with the usual boy-girl break up theme explored as well as a more general indifference to her current situation. I would have like to have heard her explore a few more issues because just a couple of time the 13 tracks began to slightly merge and sound a tad repetitive. However, what I really do like is how Banks takes a number of risks on this project. The track Train wreck immediately pops to mind with its jaunting beat and almost incoherent vocals which just complement each other so well. This album is full of tracks like that, tracks which tear up the previous blueprint of a modern day pop song and display a dark creativity and honesty which is lost in the post-modern music scene. My personal highlights from the album have to be Train Wreck, Mind Games and This Is Not About Us.

The Altar picks up where Goddess left us 3 years ago. 3 years on and we see a dark, nuanced and effortlessly addictive new sound - a real breath of fresh air on a stale pop music scene. The Altar may have lacked the hype and buzz of other projects, but make no mistake this project is not to be slept on.

Banks – The Altar – 8/10