Jacob Banks - Village

The Guardian 60

(Interscope)

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.