BANNERS
"I just love making music, and I just want to do that with people I love" enthuses Michael Joseph Nelson, the warm-hearted artist better known as BANNERS, an English indie-pop act with a penchant for effervescent melodies and immensely relatable lyrics about the human condition. “I'm so grateful that there are people out there who want to listen to my songs. I feel so lucky to have the chance to make people's days a tiny bit better, and maybe that's why my music is so joyful.”
Given all the cultural dyspepsia around us, that joy is pretty addictive. “Someone to You,” his soaring track about simply being “seen,” has racked up nearly 750 million streams on Spotify alone. The single proved so unforgettable, BANNERS performed it on Season 16 of American Idol, where he also proved an effective mentor. Previous to that, you’ve probably heard his hit singles all over television. Among them: “Ghosts” on Suits and Teen Wolf, ”Half Light” on The Royals and New Amsterdam, and “Got It in You” on The Good Doctor and America’s Got Talent. Which is to say, BANNERS owns a market share in feel-good anthems streamlined to soundtrack your best life.
Nelson’s latest, All Back to Mine, is his second full-length (Nettwerk) out March 29th. Its title refers to an exuberant, long-awaited return to his hometown of Liverpool after spending seven years in Canada to get his career going. “I was quite aware that it was a sacrifice,” he notes. Rich in romance and optimism, All Back to Mine is as positively infectious as you’d expect.
The album sets its tone with “Name in Lights,” a gorgeous, free-spirited expression of unconditional love and ceding the spotlight to anyone you care about. “I wanted to come up with a song that was supportive, that says, ‘When it does work out for you, I'm going to be cheering you on,’” Nelson says. “I was really proud of how that song turned out, because I think it's a relatively tricky concept.” Enveloped in vibrant production, it’s extra effective thanks to live strings from composer and Goldfrapp contributor Davide Rossi.
Throughout All Back to Mine, you’ll also hear “crazily beautiful” synthesized string arrangements from Nelson’s longtime friend Ollie Gorman. In fact, much of the album features collaborations with his old mates from Liverpool. There are a few exceptions, such as the 8-bit turned acoustic ear worm “C’est La Vie” written in Nashville with Trent Dabbs. “The melody stuck in my head while I was in the bathroom,” he says, laughing. “All of my friends are so talented in so many creative ways and moving home has allowed me to get everyone involved. Now I record the songs and write them with my friends, and make all the videos with friends. My friends even come on tour with me. I don't think you can ask for anything better in life than to do what you love with your friends."
Most of the tracks were penned in-studio alongside producer Cameron Blackwood (George Ezra) and engineer Dan Moyler. Nelson wrote and recorded them over nine months, primarily in Liverpool and on the breathtaking Scottish isle of Lewis. All told, he recorded a staggering 40 songs, a fourth of which made it onto the album. “I think you harness something different when you're in the same room together,” notes the frontman, who grew up visiting the studio where his successful producer dad, Ken Nelson, worked magic with bands such as his favorite band, Coldplay.
All Back to Mine’s centerpiece, “Name in Lights,” is the first of a succession of tracks devoted to love. It begins with the deceivingly titled banger "Broken Hearted,” which captures love at first sight, the goose-bumping moment you instinctively fall for someone. ”I don't know if it's even possible to capture that, but I think it's worth trying,” exclaims Nelson. That leads to the shimmering, dancey infatuation of “Have You Ever Loved Someone” which is, he adds, “about how I don't want anything from you. I just need you to be with me.”
Love may be kind, but in BANNERS’ world, it’s actually quite impatient. That heady urgency continues throughout the levitating piano-confessional “In Your Universe,” he explains, “where you're so intoxicated with someone…the thought of seeing them again is all you think about all day.” In contrast, reality kicks in ever so gently on the impassioned ballad “Anywhere for You,” about a relationship’s ebbs and flows, and sticking around even when times get tough. Then there are the doting, punch-the-sky celebration of ”There Goes My Girl” and the dreamy, string-laden “Best View in Liverpool,” the latter an ode to his favorite city’s best vista, seemingly optimized for professing love. Oh also: All of the above are pretty universal narrative arcs, a fact that is not lost on Nelson.
Over the pandemic, TikTokers resurrected BANNERS’ already successful “Someone to You,” opening it up to a whole new audience. This, in turn, impacted how Nelson approached All Back to Mine. “Writing a soundtrack to someone’s life becomes really addictive,” he says. “If I can make people feel a little happier…once you release music, it's a bit of a cliché, but it doesn't feel like yours anymore. It's very touching that somebody would make it their own like that.”
If there’s an overwhelming takeaway from the album, it’s the wonder, optimism, and life-affirming lightness of being. The final song, “All That You Made Me,” is a loving tear-jerker of an homage to his mother, so authentic it was even recorded live. “I put my heartstrings all over this album,” Nelson says. That’s kind of the point of everything he creates, and what makes listening to All Back to Mine a uniquely authentic journey. “You want to fill your life with experiences, don't you? And the more of them, the better,” he adds. “I can't judge what's good and what isn't anymore.” Instead, he leaves that up to us. “All I can do is try to make something that matters.”