- 2025-03-05
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MUSIC
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BANKS Releases New Album “Off With Her Head”
American singer-songwriter BANKS released her fifth studio album “Off With Her Head” on February 28, 2025.
This marks her first album in three years since 2022 album “Serpentina”.
The album comprises 12 songs, featuring guest appearances from American rapper Doechii, British singer-songwriter Sampha and French singer-songwriter Yseult.
On the album, BANKS reunited with producers such as Lil Silva, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Tim Anderson, and SOHN, who previously worked on her debut album “Goddess”.
BANKS said of the album, “In many ways, it's a big sister album to 'Goddess'. After a decade apart, I've reunited with the core musicians and producers who shaped my debut. Yet, it also represents something entirely new, reflecting my growth as both an artist and a person, and the journey is documented in all these sounds. Looking back, the person I was 10 years ago had so much to learn about life. I had to empower myself, I had to grow. That journey has been as important as the music itself. And now, I'm bringing all of that to this new project.”- She told Billboard about the album title, “[The album is] about shedding past identities that no longer resonate. he title symbolizes the various ways we construct, perform, express, and sometimes hide our thoughts. There's a tension between how we see ourselves and the roles that society imposes. Breaking free from that has been incredibly liberating, and this journey is captured throughout the album.”
BANKS shared, “This next album has reminded me why I make music in the first place. I was feeling disheartened by this business. The mindset that we as artists have to please others in order to be successful. Make sure they like you, want you, buy you. It's the opposite of art. Because for me the best art is not about others. It is about release. Releasing demons or love or joy or anger or regret. Releasing so I can be at peace. This album took me back to that. Reminded me why I do this. Why I need it! I am refreshed and inspired. I love u. Love can be unkind but wow can it also be pure bliss.” -
BANKS explained about some tracks for the album.
“I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend” featuring Doechii
“This song was born from a story I told in the studio. A partners ex-girlfriend sent an 'I miss u' text with a very suggestive photo of herself attached while I was with him. She knew we were together and had been for a while. We were all cracking up at the absurdity and what started off as us messing around, turned into the anthem of 'I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend'. I'm incredibly proud of what Doechii and I have created with this song”
“Love Is Unkind”
“Love Is Unkind” is about an emotionally dangerous relationship that had me running around in circles. It's about how love can be unkind and masochistic. Rewinding your memory and seeing things clearly.
“Best Friends”
“It is about someone who was my sister for many years, someone I still dream about and wake up missing. Someone who I grew apart from. I think we broke each other's hearts. This song is about the grief of that loss and honoring our love. I think it's important to write about because although universal, friendship loss can be more difficult to process. We are never taught we can lose a friend in the same way we are taught we can lose a romantic partner. I'm happy to release a song that honors the deep beauty and romance of friendship.”
“Off With Her Head”
“It's obviously insinuating death. It's violent. But I think in order to get rid of the negative voices in your head you have to resort to savagery. You have to cut it off. You don't reason with them, because there's no reason for them. They just hold you back. 'Off With Her Head' is about getting out of your head and into your body.” - source : Apple Music
