BANKS broods her way through the eclipsing “Holding Back”, announces new album

Somehow, some way, BANKS has ended up underrated. Despite an adoring fan base, her albums have yet to receive the acclaim they truly deserve. Hell, she linked up with BJ Burton for III, the man behind much of the brilliant tinkering of Bon Iver’s 22, A Million and the massive impact of Low’s Double Negative, and together they delivered an album that – you’re damn right – pushed the envelope. It still didn’t receive quite the reaction it deserved.

Never one to back down from a challenge, the singer-songwriter is back to claim what’s rightly hers with her fourth studio album. SERPENTINA is due out April 8th, boasting previously released singles, “Skinnydipped” and “The Devil”. To mark the occasion, she’s unleashed its third single, the brooding, crippling, “Holding Back”.

Co-produced by BANKS in its entirety, the album finds the artist once again charging into unknown waters. She explains, “In the past I’ve been really tight and controlled, and I don’t feel like that right now. I just feel more wild and free.

The title itself is drawn from a word (serpentine) she recalls scrawling in her notebooks in high school, reaching back all while venturing forward. She’s added the “a” to represent a sense of feminisation, representing what she sees as essentially a “snake queen”. She elaborates, “Snakes represent rebirth and the shedding of one’s skin. They just move on, and I think that’s what life is about. Changing and transforming, with a little bit of danger, but also smooth and silky. It just felt like the perfect representation. This album feels regal to me, but also my most human ever. So I think it kind of touches both ends of the spectrum.

Finding BANKS releasing music independently for the first time (via AWAL), SERPENTINA is sure to find the artist at her boldest to date.

Check out “Holding Back” below or on streaming platforms.


Banks’ new album SERPENTINA is out on April 8 through AWAL (pre-order/save). You can find her on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.