These are some preliminary thoughts on LIVE, a record that BANANA will release January 27, 2017. A little bit of context here: when Cate Le Bon was making Crab Day, a very strong pop release from last year, these are the musicians that came together to record and tour that album. They breathed life into Cate’s songs with whimsical arrangements, heavy yet extremely colorful post-punk playing – it was refreshing to say the least. Now, with the addition of Josh Klinghoffer (Chili Peppers fame), BANANA has finished a record in their own right, starting right where Crab Day left off. Le Bon herself even appears, playing piano and vibraphone, on LIVE.

Knowing this, the musical and conceptual cues we might find from this album become less mystified. Only one track “Banana C” is available for listening right now, but it promises a significant release later this month – a release which will be playful and wonky – a release which will draw upon rich acoustic sounds, as well as some colorful synthesizers – a release which will probably rely heavily on repetitive, phasing patterns which kaleidoscope, take shape, and then rearrange again. All of this has me very excited – BANANA has the potential to reimagine some of the ideas from Crab Day in a more expansive, and perhaps bolder instrumental release. Check again later this month to hear parts A, B, C and D.