Today, BANKS released her third album, titled simply, III, via Harvest Records. Executive produced by BANKS and BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Francis and the Lights), III is now available HERE. She celebrated its release by playing a sold-out show at House of Vans Chicago last night. BANKS will host a meet-and-greet and performance at Urban Outfitters Space 15 Twenty location in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 14, followed by a signing at Rough Trade in New York City on Thursday, July 18.
“I’m so excited for this album to be out in the world,” says BANKS. “It’s been my labor of love for over two years and I’m so happy to be able to share it with my fans.”
Tickets and VIP packages are on sale now for The III Tour, which kicks off on September 3 at REBEL in Toronto. The headline run includes a three-night stand at Brooklyn Steel and an October 1 show at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. See below for itinerary. BANKS will also perform at such festivals as Music Midtown in Atlanta, Life is Beautiful in Las Vegas and Austin City Limits.
In a four-star review, Rolling Stone said, “She doubles down on III…a snow-globe of tainted love that makes the apocalyptic outside world seem near-manageable by comparison.” “Gimme,” the album’s lead single, has already amassed over 11.5 million streams. Rolling Stone hailed it as “electrifying” and TIME Magazine named it as a song “You Need to Listen to.” View the official video for “Gimme”HERE. “Gimme, gimme more BANKS,” AP said, going on to observe, “standout tracks on the 13-tune album include the sludgy gem ‘Contaminated’ and the bright collaboration with Francis and the Lights’ ‘Look What You’re Doing to Me.’ BANKS’ vocal fluttery range is on glorious display in ‘Propaganda,’ she’s playful in ‘Alaska’ and her voice is barely above a whisper in the exquisite ballad ‘If We Were Made of Water.’” Rolling Stonepraised “Contaminated” as “infectious.”
“Till Now,” the album opener, begins gently, with the intimate sound of an acapella voice memo BANKSmade on her phone – but then cuts loose, becoming an anguished treatise on loss and redemption. The delicate, intimate “Hawaiian Mazes” takes a completely different tack, showcasing a slower-burning side of the artist.
“It’s about growing up and owning your path,” explains BANKS. “Sometimes you can hold on so tight to a memory of something, or someone, because you’re scared of the unknown. ‘Hawaiian Mazes’ was written while I was just beginning to loosen my grip on trying to control everything. Trusting that the decisions that I’ve made have been right. Letting go is a huge theme for me.”
While she initially envisioned opening III with “What About Love” – which contains the sweet sounds of her four-year-old niece saying, “I love you” – it instead found its place as the final of the album’s 13 original songs. “I realized it made more sense for me to close the album with ‘What About Love,’ because no matter what, I always want to have hope,” BANKS says. “If you don’t have that then you’re just bitter, and I never want to be bitter.”
BANKS has attained 1.3 billion global streams to date across all of her songs, including over 615 million cumulative streams in the U.S. alone. After the release of her breakout debut album, Goddess, she became the world’s most blogged about artist. The 2014 album included the RIAA-certified Platinum hit “Beggin For Thread” and the Gold single “Waiting Game.” The Altar, released in 2016, debuted in the Top 10 in over 30 countries on iTunes. BANKS has performed on such television shows as “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” Her songs have been heard in films (Divergent, The Longest Ride) and licensed by such television shows as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Power.”
Credit:
Ambrosia Healy, Capitol Music Group / Ambrosia.Healy@umusic.comMacKenzie Reynolds, Capitol Music Group / MacKenzie.Reynolds@umusic.com
