Since the release of 2019’s III, pop artist BANKS has been relatively quiet in terms of new music. Today she’s released her first new single in three years called “The Devil”—and it’s as fiery as the name suggests. In the single’s press release, there’s mention of a “traumatic break-up and mind-and-body wake-up calls,” which makes it seem as though “The Devil” marks both a new personal and musical chapter for the LA-based singer-songwriter.
BANKS became known for her sometimes-seductive, sometimes-witchy R&B. “The Devil” takes it to a darker level—over a cascading bass melody and an ominous knocking beat, BANKS enters the fast lane with the god of the underworld. There are also horror-film screams that border on camp. However, the biggest takeaway from the track is that the singer espouses liberation: “I ain’t really bothered / And it feels so good.” BANKS also revealed in a statement, “‘The Devil’ is about being stronger than the demons that haunt you. About rebirth and transformation into the forces of nature we were born to be.”
The song also comes with a spooky music video that depicts BANKS as the devil herself. The visual, co-directed with BANKS and Jenna Marsh, was inspired Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula, and the black comedy classic Death Becomes Her. BANKS added, “This video represents the twisted, surreal, and playful world that I exist in as the devil. No demon can touch me as I am not tempted by their charm. Give me a rose and I’ll eat it. In this world, I hypnotize and stuff every demon in a box while I dance, fly, and play with my devil sisters. Someone write my new name down.”
You’ll have to experience all the darkness for yourself below.
