It’s been a while since Azealia Banks exploded into everyone’s radar with the undeniably epic ‘212’ and she continues to keep up the good work with the release of her new EP, 1991. Each track delivers just what you would expect from young Miss Banks; a cracking beat and Azealia spitting bars like nobody’s business. The EP opens with its title track, ‘1991’; café noises, ringing telephones and snippets of French conversation provide an introduction for Azealia purring in French. It’s overtly luxurious and the rapping is just as speedy as you’d expect it to be. Van Vogue, too, opens powerfully with a strong beat and a kind of naff dog bark thing (it does actually work though logic dictates that it shouldn’t). The verses are characteristically fast but the track is laden with pauses to emphasise its more experimental features; as well as the dog bark, Banks plays with distorting her voice at half speed. Again, it works; it seems this girl can do no wrong.
Whilst ‘212’ may be the best known track off the EP, it’s not necessarily a definitive example of Azealia’s work (or perhaps her upcoming album, Broke with Expensive Taste). The lyrics may be more extravagantly filthy than the rest of the EP but the sound is somehow cleaner; there’s not a dog bark or telephone noise to be found. The other tracks initially seem fussy in comparison but this quickly disappears after a few listens. The final track, ‘Liquorice’, follows most closely the Banks tradition established in ‘212’. After only a few bars of beat and electro tambourine sounding synth, Banks wastes no time in barking the kind of filth we have come to expect (and love). This balances perfectly with the more girl-pop sounding chorus, delivered still with the required amount of cheek. After the colossal success of ‘212’, Azealia Banks had a lot to deliver with 1991. Of course, she pulls it off perfectly. If one were to be particularly critical, it is arguable ‘Liquorice’ would make a better opener; the latter two tracks are perhaps somewhat better than the first. However, generally 1991 is pretty excellent and holds a lot of potential promise for Broke with Expensive Taste (due out in September).
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By Melissa Taylor
Dance Yrself Clean
