While news of Kate Bush’s forthcoming gigs has sent baby-boomer bloggers into a frenzy, late-millennials have a new star to worship.
Banks prowled the stage at the Concorde 2 with a feline confidence that suggests she knows she has the audience exactly where she wants them.
Unveiling an unreleased track, Goddess, she told the audience, “Every single woman is a goddess.”
Some, it seems are more blessed than others. Framed by a battery of blinding lights and a sea of dry ice, Banks swayed like a Balinese dancer and at times her body seemed boneless. She made an O-mouth, staring into the mid-distance and pointed into the crowd as if defying them not to be bewitched.
Her voice range is limited and she knows this, keeping the tempo deliberately measured – you get the feeling her tone might thin out at a faster pace. Occasionally, her guitarist veered toward funk but the percussionist reined him back in.
The sound mixed Lana del Ray with Jessie Ware by way of The Weeknd. The synths burbled seductively and the arrangements never veered towards anything as vulgar as a hook.
Banks sings dark songs about loneliness, obsessive love and happier times. Her future is bright.
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