Omari Banks – Like A King – Review

July 17, 2020

Omari Banks: Like a King Single Review by Mr Topple for Pauzeradio.com.

One of the kings of Reggae-Soul (with Blues and Calypso in the mix as well), Omari Banks is no stranger to musical legend; his dad being the colossus Bankie Banx. But like father, like son – Banks has entered iconic territory himself. And his latest track shows why.

Omari Banks Like a King, released via ONErpm, sees Banks on scorching form. With much of the composer, lyricist and producer duties being fulfilled by himself, that alone is a measure of the man’s talents. But the end result is just as good a gauge.

It starts as it means to go on: with a glorious, Funky Soul, crashing chord-driven intro complete with electric organ, horns, rolling drums and a gorgeous, double vocal line. This influence is perhaps also best represented in the chord progressions across Like a King: the C# root (a complex choice of key at the best of times), the major fifth and major sixth. But then we also head directly into Reggae-fusion territory.

What Banks does so well is subtleties. On the face of it, Like a King employs the Reggae sensibilities you’d expect. Guitars skank; keys perform a bubble rhythm; the bass is on a syncopated riff, skipping the third beat and working around the root triads, and drums perform a light version of a one drop, with the snare accenting the two and four and hi-hats filling in its breathing space. But looks can be deceptive, and Banks has brought delicate but crucial intricacies into play.

The keys bubble rhythm duty is enhanced by additional chords on the right hand in the treble clef. Hitting the two (on top of the bubble rhythm), they then strike the off after the third before doubling up on the fourth. This additional line gives increased momentum to the track, and also provides an extra response to the main melodic line’s call. On occasion, the electric organ comes back, doubling up the keys on the two and four with the vibrato button turned up just for some added Soul. And the additional use of tom-toms from the drums hammers home the genre.

Horns play their part, coming in with varied and funky responses at the end of every second bar and during the chorus more frequently. It’s hard to say whether Banks’s inspiration here was Ska or Soul, because the arrangement sits between the two. At times the horns verge on Ska, with their response duty to the melody and the instruments playing in unison but an octave apart. But Soul is also recognisable, when the break out into harmonisation and also vary the melodic arrangement. So – the horns are Banks all over; that is – musically ambiguous.

There’s an attractive string line, that lilts on semibreves across the bridge, and then dotted/extended breves-into-crotchets on the chorus, working from the root fifth. It’s a clever musical device that sits above the other instrumental lines – as it juxtaposes well with the busier arrangement elsewhere and adds fluidity. The additional riffs on the guitars are also pleasing. There’s a hint of something Bluesy, with the bass and treble on the amp up, the mid down somewhat and little vibrato or presence – creating that rich, rounded sound coupled with some nice bending.

The backing vocals are pure Soul, too – littered with call and response, open vowels and multi-layered harmonies. And just to round Like a King off, the end takes us back to the beginning, with a grand, Funky Soul outro.

It goes without saying that Banks is extremely vocally assured as always. He has a wonderfully rich, resonant voice for someone with a natural tenor; one which is that of a Soul singer. His use of dynamics, switching between loud and soft mid-sentence, shows the level of control he has, as do the extended phrases and their accompanying breath control. Banks also has an intuitive way of clipping the end notes of certain words, while extending others, to tie-in with the lyrics. And his flipping between vertical and horizontal embouchure (“time” becomes “tyme” to match “grind”) is delicious. Lyrically it’s stirring, spiritual work, too – as Banks laments the balance that should exist in relationships, defying the systemic patriarchy that we are forced to live under. And the accompanying video, featuring visuals by Rickiell Hodge based on Banks’ own concept and Afro inspired fashions by Donilia Reid, is a work of art – full of traditional Anguillan scenes, historic locations, and his own daughters.

Overall, Like a King is yet another quality release from Banks. It’s a thoroughly classy offering, full of tiny nuggets of ingenuity that he turns into gemstones. Pleasing on the ear and instantly memorable, it sets an exciting standard for what may be arriving with his forthcoming album. The return of this king is a welcome one.