Banks – ‘Off With Her Head’ album review: Dedication to reinvention
THE SKINNY: When Medusa’s head was cut off, that’s when she became most powerful. When Marie Antoinette laid her head on the block, it started a revolution. When one thing violently ends, more often than not, something else dramatically begins. Change often demands savagery and Banks seems to know that well on Off With Her Head.
As her fifth album, coming the year after her debut, celebrated its ten-year anniversary, this new release marks a kind of reckoning for the artist. A decade on from where she started, when Goddess immediately made her a phenomenon that has inspired artists since work on this album was set against a landscape of major change. Banks moved cities, lost friends, changed teams working on her music, got engaged, started a new life, and suddenly looked around at what she was making and knew that she had to change too.
When a lot is going on in our personal lives, the temptation is there to cling to what we know and keep doing what we are doing. But freedom is found in letting go, and that’s heard here. In the album’s best moments, Banks goes all in on the somewhat craziness a hectic mind and heighten emotions demands. On ‘I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend’, she enlists Doechii to vocalise that as the duo dances across the track like an angel and demon on someone’s shoulders. On ‘Delulu’, she goes all in on her own, clearly having a lot of fun with it.
‘Meddle’ is another highlight and certainly a song that Banks would never have made in any other era of her career. It sounds like the artist has crash-landed on an opera stage and run with it, embracing complete and utter theatricality as a sonic representation of this dramatic chapter.
There are also elements here that feel beautifully simple. It doesn’t feel like a record that’s been overthought or overdone, as if Banks has gone limp and let her creative mind work. However, sometimes that reflects a bit too much in the lyricism on tracks like ‘Best Friends’ where strong verses get lazy in the chorus.
It feels weird to say about a brand new record, but Off With Her Head excites me for Banks’ next album. As the title and opening and closing tracks sing about, this is an album where Banks chopped off her head, tore away her old identity and the things holding her back before, and endeavoured to grow a new, bolder, more powerful one. The start of that is here, but I think the next chapter, when hopefully that freedom has flourished even more, can be even stronger if she leans further into the resolve to do whatever she wants.
For fans of: Songs to soundtrack your crazy side.
A concluding comment from the devil on my shoulder: Be more Doechii.
Off With Her Head track by track
Release Date: February 28th | Producer: Banks | Label: Her Name Is Banks
‘Guillotine’: A short and sharp intro, Banks declares, “Put the tape on your mouth and your head on the block” as she chops the head off her old self and resolves to grow a new one. [2.5/5]
‘I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend’ featuring Doechii: Everything Doechii touches turns to gold lately as the rapper is undeniably having her moment in the sun. But as the duo pair up, combining Bank’s ability to make everything so atmospheric and vibey, the contrast between that and Doechii’s rage is thrilling. [3.5/5]
‘Love Is Unkind’: Unpacking a toxic relationship but in a way that feels empowering and song, something about this track feels like a modern-day retake of ‘Love Is A Battlefield’. [3/5]
‘Delulu’: A track that goes all in on the crazy side we’re all hiding; Banks is clearly having fun here as she leans way into the giddy, delusional daydreams, soundtracked by some great guitar details. [3/5]
‘Move’: Another prime example of Bank’s ability to make something so atmospheric so easily, this is full of high vibes and beats that hook you in an instant without ever being boring or expected. There are details here that feel very Caroline Polachek-esque. [3/5]
‘Stay’: More stripped back than the rest, ‘Stay’ sounds like a song made by Banks and Banks only, as if she crafted the whole thing spontaneously and defied any level of overthinking. [2.5/5]
‘Best Friends’: A friendship breakup often hits so much worse than any romantic one, and Banks gets that. Writing a true heartbreak track for the loss of a best friend, the lyricism is great until the chorus, where it loses some of the sharpness. [2.5/5]
‘Meddle’: Oh, now this is theatrical. Sounding as if Banks was dropped into an opera, this is exactly what this record is trying to get at as the artist refuses to drop the fun in her music-making. [3/5]
‘Direction’: On the complete flip side, ‘Direction’ is lyrically sparse but musically intricate as the production power her music has always held is on vibrant display here. [3/5]
‘Make It Up’ featuring Sampha: Pairing up with Sampha, the collaborations on this record are the winners as Sampha’s voice sounds as gorgeous as it always does, dancing around the production and Banks’ own angelic sound. [3/5]
‘River’: Similar to ‘Lovesick’ or ‘Fuck With Myself’, Banks drops into her seductive self for another empowering, self-assured yet sexy moment. [2.5/5]
‘Off With Her Head’: Acting as the album’s manifesto, Banks sings about a willingness to burn it all down in order to start again. Giving it another big, theatrical instrumental, it’s a strong finish. [2.5/5]
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