Sir Michael Rocks: Banco

by Chris Douglas

This album is pretty f’ing sweet. With Sir Michael Rocks‘ latest release, Banco, he has not only impressed me, but also has me waiting for more.

I guess I’ll get the negatives out of the way first. My main problem with this album is that some of the hooks are incredibly dull. On the track “Some Ish” the chorus says the word “b*tch” upwards of 13 times. To be frank, it is not only lazy songwriting, but also bad songwriting. Another bad chorus is the Trinidad James feature on “Lost Boys.” Lyrically speaking the “Lost Boys” chorus is miles ahead of “Some Ish” but the vocal performance from Mr. James is lacklustre at best. His breath control is subpar and, personally, I found the tone of his voice to be off-putting.

Now to discuss the things I enjoyed about this album. Most noticeably, the production on this album is unique and á la mode (there’s even a DJ Mustard beat on here). I found every track to be crisply produced and detailed. Secondly, I found the skits on the album to quite humorous, my favorite being the “Dino Feeding Skit” where Sir Michael Rocks describes what he feeds the various dinosaurs he cares for. The moments of lightheartedness are welcomed since sonically speaking the album is quite dark.

I’d like to stand here and try to infer the deeper meanings of this album, but I simply haven’t listened to it enough to definitely say what I believe certain lyrics or songs are truly about. What I can say, however, is that I enjoyed Sir Michael Rocks sometimes random lyrics and his choice of instrumentals. I think this album is a strong solo project from Sir Michael Rocks; however it’s not revolutionary.

Rating: 7.0/10

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