Daily Dose: Tank and The Bangas, "Ants"

Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.

The breakout New Orleans group Tank and The Bangas put out a brand new single Friday called “Ants,” and it’s gorgeous. The single comes with a sped-up video of an artist doing a series of impressive illustrations to accompany the music. It’s the second track the band has shared from their forthcoming album Green Balloon, which is due out May 3 on Verve Forecast.

“Ants” brings Tank and The Bangas’ blend of funk, soul and hip-hop to soaring new heights, with group leader and vocalist Tarriona “Tank” Ball working double time as a singer and rapper, and excelling at both.

Ball describes the band’s new album as “a sister to Think Tank. Think Tank was 12, and Green Balloon is 16 and having sex. She’s out there.” The album was produced by Jack Splash, Mark Batson, Zaytoven, Louie Lastic and Robert Glasper.

The five-piece band first came together after meeting at an open-mic night in New Orleans in 2011, and their debut full-length album Think Tank followed soon after in 2013. They then rose to prominence quite suddenly after winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2017, and they have since put out a pair of live albums called Live Vibes and Live Vibes 2.

Check out the video for “Ants” below, as well as their performance in the Paste Studio from 2017.

Daily Dose: Tank and The Bangas, “Ants”