Banks: "Before I Even Met You"

In spite of what many who want to write off all new music as derivative will tell you, there's been an insane amount of excellent - even groundbreaking - shit that's come out of the 80's synth renaissance in recent years. Truth be told, though, we've reached a saturation point and have now hit Peak New Wave. So what's next? Fucking 90's revival, what else?

Banks kind of hearkens back to the Trip Hop-lite of Poe but makes sure to throw a little of that sultry Lana Del Ray sex kitten in there to stay contemporary. It sounds a bit art-by-committee on paper, but as a first single it works pretty well; the vocals have an appealing melodic flow, and I actually appreciate the fact that whoever produced this opened up the beat instead of burying it in gauze like every other shoegaze/dream pop crossover track of 2012.