BANKS - You Should Know Where I'm Coming From - Goddess

Although I've previously blogged about BANKS, her debut album has come out. And I couldn't just let that slip by could I?!

So I obviously pre-ordered the album, and am also going to see BANKS once again.

My beautiful Goddess

The first time I saw her live was at the HMV Institute in Digbeth back in March of this year with my sister - a gig I reviewed for Soundcheck that you can read here. She was simply breathtaking. There's no other way to describe her. How can someone so petite and fragile-looking produce such enormous sounds?

BANKS - HMV Institute - 21/03/14

It's something I really admire about her - she's probably not what you'd immediately expect. She's mysterious, graceful, majestic. She seems vulnerable and dainty, but with a core of steel. In her own words, "Fuckin' with a goddess and you get a little colder."

So when the album plopped onto my doormat yesterday, I was hugely excited. After listening to it a few times through, I can safely say that there's absolutely no filler. There are a couple of tracks that don't quite get me like the others do, but they're still great. Having actually heard most of it already, I thought this song in particular stood out. Maybe it's because I'm a pianist, and this song is heavily piano-based. But hey, this is just my opinion.

The first few piano chords set the tone immediately. They're sombre and wistful. The lyrics match the mood:

"What if I said I would break your heart
What if I said I had problems that made me mean
What if I knew I would just rip your mind apart
Would you let me out?"

The second verse is very similar, but has a slightly more definitive feel to it:

"Maybe you can stop before you start
Maybe you can see that I just may be too crazy to love
If I told you solitude fits me like a glove
Would you let me out?"

Up til now, it's been pretty melancholy, but it's the chorus that really gets you in the emotions. The change from the resigned tone in her voice in the verse to the huge, shocking, accosting hit here in the chorus is really quite special:

"You oughta know where I'm coming from
I was alone when I burnt my home
And all of the pieces were torn and thrown
You should know where I'm coming from"

She's just totally flawless - not only in terms of the pitching, but of the entire feel of the chorus too. The first couple of lines are punch-you-in-the-gut, completely upfront power and slightly pained. By the third line she's lessening the power, and by the last line she's back to the melancholy, resigned tone. It's beautiful.

"What if I said I was just too young
What if I said I was built on bricks of carelessness and crumbs
What if I said I'd be gone before I could come
Would you let me out?"

This verse is backed up by a string section - a perfect companion for the tone of this song. And then we're back to the chorus which is just even more stunning with the accompaniment of the strings.

The strings in the bridge section are slightly faster-moving than previously, which conveys this sense of stirring, as though something important is happening or being built up to:

"Your soul outweighs my own, my own
But you turn me away from my low blows
Boy, you shoulda known"

And then we're hit with the chorus for the final two times. Not only does it have the weeping strings over the top - there's also slow but powerful percussion behind these last two runs. It's all very emotional.

The entire album is most definitely worth listening to, but I found this song especially moving.