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Banks & Steelz - Anything But Words (Album Review)

Friday, 02 September 2016 Written by Huw Baines

Rap-rock's charge sheet is a mile long and home to crimes that we can't forgive and forget.

But Banks & Steelz - Interpol's Paul Banks and Wu-Tang Clan's RZA - approach this ungainly hybrid with pedigree on their side and years of experience under their belts. As you might expect they don't idly mash the two together on their debut, ‘Anything But Words’,  but even with eyes open they can't avoid the pitfalls altogether.

In truth, this isn't the rap-rock that we made efforts to forget. Banks' past work could hardly be described as meat-headed, while RZA is a man with gold-plated hip hop classics in the bank, not a genre chancer. Together they bring a sense of ambition that wreaks havoc with some preconceived notions.

The instrumentals here happily crib from Banks’ day job, with ambitious guitar lines and rich synths the order of the day over beats that largely stay out of the way.

Rather than compete with RZA’s punchy bark, they are instead woven in as part of a layered approach. There are many brief guitar glimmers and percussive skitters strewn about the place and, no great surprise here, this is far more refined than something that might be caught in a pair of outsized Bernie’s. Two forays into woozy soul - Conceal and Can't Hardly Feel - exist in a different dimension entirely from that stereotype.

While that sets Banks and Steelz apart, they do stumble when confronted by the rigidity of the rapper/clean vocalist dynamic. Just as RZA is in fine, confrontational voice, much of the melodic work here is good - notably the opener, Giant, and the Florence Welch-featuring Wild Season - but undercut by the need to afford equal footing to both. Sword in the Stone sidesteps the issue by eventually ceding the floor entirely to RZA and Kool Keith, but that’s not a viable album-wide solution given how enjoyable some of Banks’ vocals contributions are.

Banks & Steelz, as a concept, began with no expectations from either man, rather because RZA’s manager thought “two cool New York musicians should hang out”. That sense of relaxed fun and artistic freedom remains intact on ‘Anything But Words’, but it’s accompanied by the feeling that this record won’t go down as a major work in their collective back catalogues.

Banks and Steelz Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:

Fri November 18 2016 - LONDON KOKO

Click here to compare & buy Banks And Steelz Tickets at Stereoboard.com.

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