Miami-based alternative rock band Banana Chant recently released their sophomore EP Paying Off Student Loans on March 20th. The band has since released a music video for their song “Bluu,” and is premiering the music video for their song “Floating” on April 20th. Paying Off Student Loans is a psychedelic funk rock project that tells the story of hope, seduction, heartbreak, death, temptation, isolation, and the afterlife while also communicating an introspective journey into maturing as a young adult. Without being overtly literal, it tells the story of addiction without blatantly saying it. On the other hand, the title, Paying Off Student Loans is very literal. As a band comprised of recent university graduates with a blossoming music career, their goal may not be too far out of reach.
The band, comprised of four friends born and raised in Miami, aims to be a shift in the world of new-age rock music. With current “rock” trending toward cookie-cutter beats and underwhelming vocal deliveries, Banana Chant refuses to be put into a box with their creativity and style. “We are trying to bring back rock music in an age where rock is not popular. We are not trying to follow trends, we are trying to make them.”
Paying Off Student Loans is now available everywhere.
Banana Chant’s Paying Off Student Loans blends influences of rock, funk, and groove into a set of five songs that are incredibly easy to move to. With sharp guitar solos, hypnotic drums, groovy baselines, and wide-ranging vocal deliveries, the band communicates immense emotion in their music that matches the lyricism.
The band has released their first music video of the EP for the single “Bluu”, which tells a story of double meaning. It can be a song of seduction or a song of death. Gilexson sings, “I’m not your lover, I’m not your man. I’m here to witness your end.” The nonstop pumping drums and bass carry the song into the explosive choruses, after which end in guitar glory. “Every sound in every one of our songs has a purpose, every note we hit is deliberate, and the time we invest into our music is reflected in its quality.”
“Floating” is the bands self-proclaimed magnum opus. The verses provide a haunting ghostlike quality with relaxed drums and a colorful bassline. The chorus is euphoric, as Gilexson’s falsetto and Vanessa’s harmonies drift directly into your heart.