Lies About The War

Album review

Figuring his spot on the roster of a major label would be better filled by an artist more concerned with commercial growth, Jacob Banks left Interscope after the release of his 2021 EP For My Friends, and set up his own Nobody Records. In no form is Lies About the War (the true follow-up to his 2018 first LP Village) a typical post-major move signaling sudden artistic freedom. Tracing back to the independent debut single in 2013 through the parting work for Interscope, Banks' output has always shown natural development. That continues with Lies About the War. There are many stylistic facets to the singer's discography, and this set happens to show his soul background more clearly without stifling his inclinations to strip a ballad to its bare essence, discharge blunt bass frequencies, or change direction mid-song. The stronger shades of traditional R&B also allow him to more nimbly shift from tremulous falsetto to anguished bellows; this is the best showcase yet for his voice. Opener "Just When I Thought" is a probing ballad that starts in baleful style (uneasy, drawn-out synthesizer notes, and phantasmal background vocals from co-writer Dyo), only to fade out and metamorphose in a church (with undaunted piano and organ, and a gospel choir); it seems almost devoid of hope, yet the LP as a whole is more sanguine than Village. This holds true even when Banks is expressing something grave like "My parachute won't open, my parachute is teaching me to fall," in which there's a sense that he'll figure it out. Apart from its lower end and slightly eerie atmospheres, "By Design (Evel Knievel)" is a soul throwback through and through, its unhurried gait and Wurlitzer/organ/acoustic piano combo helping to bring Ray Charles to mind more than any of Banks' previous recordings. "Bang" starts in a similarly nostalgic tint but switches abruptly to a booming production with a steely guest verse from Tobe Nwigwe. It's quite a display of Nigeria's artistic diaspora (Banks was born in Nigeria and is a native of Birmingham, England, while Nwigwe, the son of Nigerian parents, is from Texas), and a strong reminder that Lies About the War is set in 2022.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo