BANKS @ Koko, Camden

Photograph by Christina Shutti

For the last year, Banks has been giving us track after track of post-dubstep R&B. After releasing her London EP late last year, she returned to play a sold-out gig at KOKO.

Arriving on stage a little after 9, she launched into 'Before I Ever Met You' in a haze of flashing lights. Her songs are intense and the worry that she might be too green to handle it flashes across my mind. My doubt is chastised with an opulent tone and a devastating vibrato. 

Her relatively small catalogue reveals numerous hits including most recent crowd favourite, 'Brain'. Her signature growls and chants are always present but never dull as they relentlessly up the ante for a satisfying drop. 'Bedroom Wall' demonstrates how she decorates the most simple of songs. 'Change' captures a nuanced narrative as she vocally diffuses between pleading and distaste. Banks isn't one for the gentle approach; her lyrics are to the point and she acknowledges how hard it is to share, but songs like 'Goddess' remind you she's equal parts vulnerable and badass. Knowing that fearless statements are easier to sell amidst the dramatics of lighting and sound, Banks exposes her acoustic origins in 'Warm Water' and 'Fall Over', insisting on an impossibly deeper level of intimacy. 

It has been less than a year but her stage presence is astounding. She struts intentionally and unapologetically; sometimes to the back of the stage where she lets loose, her back to the audience. Eyes are trained on her; bewitched. It's no surprise that even she can't help but feel it. 

Her certainty on and offstage may unnerve some, but after making a name for herself on Soundcloud and landing a tour with The Weeknd, she has made her presence one that cannot be ignored.