A future-soul man, Jacob Banks has been around for some time, his traction established by 2017’s The Boy Who Cried Freedom EP. In contrast to the vogue for male singer-songwriters with wobbly bottom lips, Banks has a bear of a voice. Born in Nigeria and raised in Birmingham, his command of blues grit and electronic spell-casting is borderless.
Banks’s debut promises well. His greatest hit so far, Chainsmoking, is re-included here, all chain-gang rhythms and digital drama. More recently, Be Good to Me reprised that combination of rootsy authority and hyper-modern touches; Swedish R&B artist Seinabo Sey guests on a well-placed verse.
Songs such as Love Ain’t Enough insert a soupçon of UK garage and Jamaican dancehall into the mix, while Keeps Me Going is palpably African in inspiration. These touches reflect the album’s mission to show how it took several villages to raise Banks – several thousand miles apart. Overall, though, the daring fusions of ancient and modern dry up; when you want it to grab you by the lapels, Village is more than a little middle-of-the-road. That may not be a criticism, though, if you’re aiming for Adele fans.
