★★★½
It’s been roughly a year since Martha Brown – AKA Banoffee – dropped her debut self-titled EP after an 18-month build-up.
In the time since, Brown has made inroads on an international basis, and earned a significant reception across the greater blogosphere. As her second EP enters the world, there are more eyes on her than ever before.
Subverting any weight of expectation, Brown simply carries on business as usual – her blend of late-night R&B, warped vocal layers and the occasional rave beat are refined and sharpened across this five-track suite. That’s not to say, of course, that there is nothing fresh on offer. Opener ‘With Her’ may surpass ‘Got It’ as Brown’s hookiest, simplest and most effective chorus, while the lush, pensive ‘Oceans’ nods to Sophie B Hawkins with its exasperated “damn”s, making great use of the more tender side of the Banoffee soundscape.
Does she make you nervous? Brown and her take on post-internet pop should instead put you at ease. Were one to pitch the same question to her contemporaries, however, it may well elicit a different answer entirely.
Banoffee means business, and a complete takeover is only a matter of time.
Banoffee‘sDo I Make You Nervous?is available through Dot Dash/Remote Control.
