Former Whybirds guitarist and co-writer delivers a sophomore album replete with anthemic songs infused with arena rock.
It is now over seven years since David Banks released his debut album, Until The End, which saw the former Whybirds guitarist and co-writer set out on a solo career. The album itself garnered numerous plaudits from a broad section of the musical press, including here at AUK, where it was praised for “wearing its classic Americana rock influences proudly on its sleeve”. Since that time, Banks has split his time between his home studio at Little Record Recording Studio in Bedfordshire and working as a sideman to Luke Tuchscherer, Danny & the Champions of the World, Danni Nicholls, Hannah Scott, to name but a few, firmly establishing his credentials as one of the finest musicians currently on the UK Americana scene.
This much-anticipated follow-up entitled All The Dreams We Left Behind finds Banks taking control of production as well as playing all instruments bar the drums, which are handled by the aforementioned Tuchscherer, with ten songs that build on his debut offering. The album kicks off with the energetic Set it on Fire, which inhabits a musical space somewhere between Bon Jovi and Steve Earle, which I appreciate is quite a chasm, but in the main it works well. The following track, Until My Heart Returns, finds Banks revealing his inner-Springsteen, complete with Max Weinberg-esque drumming and piano accompaniment that could be from Roy Bittan himself. However, the problem here, and one that is recurring throughout the album, is the limitations within the narrative, which lacks any of the sagacious blue-collar poetry associated with ‘The Boss’. Tears Me Apart continues in a similar vein, impressing with the muscularity of the music, but disappointing with a rather predictable storyline.
Of the album’s slower numbers, It Ain’t Enough is by far the most rewarding, with a heavy backbeat supporting sparsely picked electric guitar that allows for a greater emotional connection, while the reflective narrative and some delightful harmonica help create a lasting impression. Something in You is less successful, while the title track, which closes the album, clocks in at over seven minutes and, though not without merit, with Bank’s evocative vocal delivery squeezing every last drop out of the narrative, it eventually outstays its welcome.
The remainder of the album revolves around a selection of full-blooded rock songs, with When We Lost It All, Like You Do, and Run Away With Me My Love all demonstrating a high level of musicality and song structure, coupled with infectious, anthemic choruses. However, here again there is an issue with over-familiarity, where one often feels like it’s been heard before. The penultimate song on the album, The Final Scene, is possibly the most successful of the ten songs, where all the album’s previous strengths combine with a more descriptive storyline to deliver the greatest reward.
With All The Dreams We Left Behind, Banks has delivered an album that, though successful on numerous levels, is not without its weaknesses. Describing an album as wearing its influences proudly on its sleeve can just as easily be interpreted as lacking in originality, depending on which side of the fence you choose to perch. Attempting to emulate the likes of Springsteen and Tom Petty is an extremely high bar, one that countless artists past and present have tried to achieve and, for one reason or another, fallen short. In Banks’s case, the level of musicality is excellent, and he has a strong singing voice; however, the weakness here lies in the lack of creativity or distinctiveness within the narrative, relying too heavily on strong melodies and commercial leanings to compensate for lyrical limitations that eventually wane on repeated listening. One may rightfully argue that the music here is aimed more at the arena rock spectrum, where subtleties and nuances are surplus to requirements, and on that level it has clearly succeeded; however, one can’t help but wonder what might have been achieved if delivered with a little more depth and originality within the individual narratives of each song.
