The 12 Hours of Wu-Tang: #11 - My Gut Reaction / Something (Sort Of) Different: Banks & Steelz - Anything But Words (August 26, 2016)

The weirdest project I’m writing about today isn’t from the only girl group out of the Wu to date, nor is it the Dutch homage to kung-fu flicks. No, it’s the rap-slash-indie rock album from the pairing of The RZA and Paul Banks, Anything But Words, that dropped upon an unsuspecting public in late summer 2016.

It isn’t weird because the collaboration came out of nowhere – both the Wu-Tang Clan and Banks’ group Interpol are New York-based acts, so their paths had to inevitably cross at some point. Aside from being Interpol’s chief singer/songwriter, Banks has also released some solo work under his own name, under the pseudonym Julian Plenti, and has even dropped a hip hop mixtape, the charmingly-named Everybody on my Dick Like They Supposed To Be, exclusive to DatPiff in 2013. What is strange about this combination is how quickly major labels jumped onto the bandwagon: after fucking around for a couple of years, Paul and RZA signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records, because the House Bugs Bunny Built felt that the world was missing out on the meshing of the Wu sound with Interpol’s indie post-punk, apparently.

I allegedly love the Wu-Tang Clan, and I’m a big fan of Interpol, so the idea was intriguing, at least. However, I don’t really follow Paul Banks’ solo career (the Julian Plenti album kind of turned me off), which should have been a red flag for me.

The duo christened themselves Banks & Steelz, with RZA’s part named after his Wu-Gambino persona Bobby Steelz (and Paul’s being self-explanatory). Their debut project, Anything But Words, is a rap-rock album in the most literal sense of the word: every song featured could be a part of either genre. The RZA handles all of the rap vocals, except for the few ceded to outside guests: regardless of his noted obsession with the genre and his own attempts on his mixtape, Paul Banks doesn’t rap on Anything But Words. Instead, he sings on every track, and the duo also provide most of the production, which, if the singles I’ve partially heard are any indication, do not actually sound like a combination of the Wu and Interpol – in fact, Banks & Steelz have truly collaborated here to create a different sound that features influences from both artists, but can stand alone in their respective catalogs.

Anything But Words is one of the goofiest projects I’ve seen released on a major label in quite some time. Its market literally consists of people like me who like both groups, and as far as I can tell, there aren’t many out there willing to admit to that, so it didn’t move very many units. Even stacking the deck with featured cameos from Florence Welch, Kool Keith, and RZA’s Wu brethren Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and Masta Killa didn’t help with album promotion: it likely made the Warners marketing department even more confused as to how to sell this thing. But as far as I can tell, Banks & Steelz is still going strong today, so at least they’re having fun.

1. GIANT

I… um… huh. “Giant” reminded me of when Imagine Dragons added a Kendrick Lamar verse to their “Radioactive”, except this song is way worse. Neither Banks nor Steelz are responsible for the actual music here (that distinction goes to John Hill and Kid Harpoon), so they handle vocal duties only, but while Paul Banks’ hook isn’t the worst thing in the world (there are some Interpol hooks that are definitely goofier and far less inspirational), The RZA sounds… terrible. He shouts every line as though he couldn’t be bothered to turn down the music in his headphones first, and his flow is a far cry from the methodical Wu-Tang Clan leader he ostensibly still is. Prince Rakeem’s “bars”, if we can even legally refer to them as such, are full of generic platitudes that rappers put into their EDM features in an effort to appear “woke”. What the fuck have I stepped into here?

2. ANA ELECTRONIC

The RZA isn’t a stranger to love raps anyway, but as Anything But Words isn’t technically a rap album, it’s a far more natural occurrence for him to delve into that topic here. The music on “Ana Electronic” was actually quite good: Paul and Bobby deliver upbeat, guitar-driven indie rock that sounds like nothing the Wu nor Interpol have ever conceived before, and the combination works well. Less successful are the performances themselves: Banks’ chorus, while sounding good, is almost entirely made up of nonsense, and RZA’s two verses are downright queso, although I am holding him to a different standard because of his previous work, which is, admittedly, unfair. And yet I’d still probably listen to this one again, no lie.

3. SWORD IN THE STONE (FEAT. KOOL KEITH)

Started off decently enough, but then grew cornier over time. Paul Banks briefly factors here vocally, opening “Sword in the Stone” and retreating behind the boards quick like a bunny, leaving the responsibility to The RZA and guest star Kool Keith. When I first read about this collaboration, I did a double take, and not just because I’m a Keith fan: in my nerdy mind, this was a Big Deal, because in the liner notes for his album First Come, First Served, Kool Keith promised an album (which never materialized) from a character named “Robbie Analog”, a direct snipe at RZA’s Bobby Digital alter-ego. So I guess it’s nice that Prince Rakeem doesn’t hold a grudge? The bars on here are beyond awkward, which I expected from the guest, who sounds energized. It’s difficult to imagine The RZA delivering these same lines in the flow he had when the Wu first hit the scene, though: he isn’t just off-beat, he’s playing to an entirely different instrumental that exists only in his head,. The chanting of the words “sword” and “stone” at the end of each verse (the content of which never touching upon the King Arthur story) reminded me of Inspectah Deck and Esoteric reciting “czar” repeatedly throughout the Czarface catalog, which made me wish that they had also made an appearance here. Not only would they have sounded good over this beat, Eso’s already got a working relationship with Kool Keith, so the chemistry already exists. Ah well. Missed opportunity.

4. SPEEDWAY SONORA

There are points throughout the RZA and Banks beat for “Speedway Sonora” where the music is vaguely New Order-esque from their Get Ready period, and I mean that as a compliment, as I rather like that album. These points usually occur when Banks is singing the chorus. But overall, “Speedway Sonora” is a goddamn fucking mess. Our hosts are clearly using Anything But Words as a dumping ground for all of the random lyrics they had written that made absolutely no sense: shit, RZA repeats the phrase, “Bob the huntsman sip tiger bone” three times for no fucking reason. I don’t think that all songs need to make logical sense or anything – that would take the artistry out of the equation. But is it too much to ask The RZA to fucking focus?

5. WILD SEASON (FEAT. FLORENCE WELCH)

So far I’m not getting what I had hoped for sound-wise from the combination of the Wu-Tang Clan and Interpol, which may be why I was immediately drawn to Andrew Wyatt’s work behind the boards for “Wild Season”, most likely the best music to be found on this entire project. Wyatt’s instrumental is upbeat and allows room for a throwback vibe while pushing the clock forward to the present day, and both Banks and guest Florence Welch (of Florence + The Machine) sound pretty great over it. Welch, especially, is fantastic, her Siouxsie Sioux-esque vocal range meshing nicely with the proceedings. Paul Banks should just record an entire album with Welch. RZA also appears, rapping about blowjobs almost immediately, which disrupts the mood. I realize this is his project too, but he could have been left on the cutting room floor and “Wild Season” would have been better for it.

6. ANYTHING BUT WORDS

On this title track, RZA and Paul are joined by Ari Levine behind the boards, and the redistribution of work must have given Bobby Steelz some free time to hone his writing, as “Anything But Words” contains a RZA performance that is the closest to his finest work on the microphone. He actually sounds like he gives a damn, launching quasi-religious hyperbabble, sage advice, and typical boasts-n-bullshit at the listener in equal measure. Paul Banks delivers the chorus, which, unlike his partner’s contribution, makes zero sense (although I did like how he sings the phrase, “game on”, right before RZA’s first verse). This could have been much worse, I suppose.

7. CONCEAL

Ignoring the fact that this song seems to have been built from the ground up off of the strength os a single RZA bar that is looped in repeatedly as a part of the beat (it’s borrowed from “Evil Deeds”, a Ghostface Killah, RZA, and Havoc concoction from Wu-Tang Chamber Music), “Conceal” is a Paul Banks solo effort that features Prince Rakeem in a limited guest capacity, even if that isn’t the official stance of Warner Bros. or Banks and Steelz themselves. The music is pleasant, calm enough to relax with but hitting just enough energetic guitar licks to get your ass up to do something constructive, and Banks’ dominant vocals sounded pretty good over it. RZA’s lone verse is merely okay, but I’ll give him some credit: his world-creating bar (“Bobby Steels keeps steels concealed”) does sound pretty fucking hard in execution, so.

8. LOVE AND WAR (FEAT. GHOSTFACE KILLAH)

The first single not just from Anything But Words, but from the duo themselves, and there’s a tonal mismatch that is hard for anyone to look past. The RZA’s “Domestic Violence” is in the rearview mirror, as his verse detailing a failing relationship where all he wants is the opportunity to win back his partner is surprisingly mature. On the other hand, guest Ghostface Killah’s contribution is a profanity-filled rant that essentially says the same thing, but doesn’t meet the commercial mainstream criteria of the rest of “Love and War”, up to and including Paul’s vocals and the radio-friendly instrumental they were clearly recorded for. This was just weird. Bobby’s vile rant at the end, buried deep within the mix, doesn’t help the cognitive dissonance one bit, either.

9. CAN’T HARDLY FEEL

Kind of surprising, in that The RZA uses “Can’t Hardly Feel” to describe lost and unrequited love, having been attracted to his friend’s girlfriend and never being able to act on his feelings… no, wait, they totally hook up at the end of the first verse, because heaven forbid Prince Rakeem pen a verse where he doesn’t come across as a winner at everything. He even makes sure to throw in a coda where he meets up with her again after he’s become Wu-famous, sleeps with her again, and then has the nerve to complain that she’s “lost [her] aura”. The fuck? You’re just being an asshole, Bobby. Paul Banks also appears.

10. ONE BY ONE

This chill, hypnotic sonic personification of existential dread is the most serious track on Anything But Words, at least thus far, and apparently The RZA’s involvement with is came about much later, as “One By One” was written by Paul originally for his own use. The music is pretty fucking great: it sounds like the coldest winter in a film noir. RZA’s allegedly Leonard Cohen-inspired first verse (I know, right?) focuses on soldiers on a very literal battlefield, and his performance is the most focused he’s sounded this entire time. He squanders that goodwill with a second, far less concise verse, although that one is also centered around one subject: himself. I wish Banks and Steelz had filled their album with more tracks such as this, as “One By One” is very much required listening.

11. GONNA MAKE IT

Not my favorite song on Anything But Words or in life, but I appreciated what our hosts were working with here. Paul and RZA conjure up a beat with both electronic and guitar elements working in tandem with the vocals, which approach The RZA’s best work (although he isn’t quite as invested on here) through his three verses. Paul’s chorus (and his own brief verse) set the tone, which sounds like the soundtrack to bring stranded in outer space (the JFK sound bites throughout certainly help with this interpretation). “Gonna Make It” is never as inspirational as it wants to be when it grows up, but it still wasn’t bad, even if it runs for far too long.

12. POINT OF VIEW (FEAT. METHOD MAN & MASTA KILLA)

The final song on Anything But Words reunited The RZA with his fellow Wu brethren Method Man and Masta Killa, but you absolutely shouldn’t go into “Point of View” hoping that it’ll sound like a Wu-Tang Clan song, because it just fucking doesn’t. For over six minutes (that shit is just uncalled for), Banks and Steelz turn in some utter bullshit that could be construed as a love song, or at the very least a track about loving urges, but that would assume that these guys were acting to write a coherent song and not just scribbling down words and phrases shouted out in the boardroom. Meth and Masta Killa’s appearances are so brief that you just know they’re here only so Warner Bros. could advertise their cameos in the marketing materials for Anything But Words. I kind of really hated this shit, but at least this album is in the books now.

THE LAST WORD: I’m not going to lie, I expected Anything But Words to be a fucking disaster. The couple of singles I partially heard on the radio sounded like crap (which is why I only “partially” heard them), as though neither RZA nor Paul Banks were able to successfully cross their streams in order to close Gozer’s doorway. And after having finally listened to the album, those moments still sound shitty even with the provided context. But there are some tracks on here that are worthy of a listen, especially if you skew more toward the indie rock-side of the musical spectrum. “One By One” is excellent, moody and melancholy, while “Wild Season” is easily the best song on the project, and there are a couple of others on here that I’d at least add to a playlist. But, curiously enough, one thing those two songs I named have in common is limited RZA involvement: he only provides a single short verse on “Wild Season”, and even though he helped produce “One By One”, Banks had that song in his mind for years prior to Banks & Steelz being conceived. Prince Rakeem is the weakest link on Anything But Words, although I have to be fair and advise you two that he does have some entertaining verses here: kudos to him for venturing outside of his comfort zone, but he sounds out of his depth for most of the album’s run time. Wu stans will probably listen to this just because of the pedigree, but all of the Clan cameos are fucking terrible (Kool Keith trumps them all, easily, as he has more experience crossing genres), and none of RZA’s production sounds like RZA production, not even his later digital orchestration stuff. Which was fine for me: he should have created a new sound alongside Paul Banks. But while I found some of Anything But Words to be worthy, your mileage may vary, because this is a project that probably shouldn’t exist in the first place, and it’s a hard sell, no matter who you’re the bigger fan of.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

Unsurprisingly, I haven’t written about Interpol for the blog, but there’s more RZA stuff to be found here.