You Be The Judge: Banks’ “Before I Ever Met You”

Bradley Stern | February 12, 2013 11:16 am

We come across new artists each and every day, but are all acts worth making a fuss over? With You Be The Judge, we’re leaving it up to YOU, our readers. Should we keep tabs on these rising artists, leave their tunes behind — or at least let them stew a bit longer before we give them another chance?

We first caught wind of Banks (a Banks of the non-Azealia Banks variety, just to be clear) when a song called “Before I Ever Met You” showed up on our radar last week.

There’s not much we know about the burgeoning LA-based songstress just yet, aside from the fact that she’s just released a B-side to her upcoming debut single, which arrives at the end of February.The track’s already been getting play on Radio 1 in the UK (as well as some UK blog buzz), and she comes to us from IAMSOUND Records, the home of alt-pop faves like Charli XCX and Little Boots—so we decided to give this one a spin.

The moody, downtempo track is sort of like what we would imagine Fiona Apple and Massive Attack might cook up together in the studio, replete with venomous lyricism, menacing trip-hop beats and spooky moans in the distance. “Everyone knows I’m right about one thing,” Banks trembles along the song’s slow-creeping opening, “You and I don’t work out.” Ouch.

Listen to “Before I Ever Met You” above, then vote in our poll below to let us know if you want Banks to remain a fixture on the site.

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