Hear that siren call off in the distance? It’s the sound of Banks’ newest single “Skinnydipped,” which the alt-pop star unveiled this morning along with its accompanying music video.
Directed by Banks herself, the clip finds the singer channeling her inner seaside seductress as she recounts overcoming her obsession with a former flame. “I dabble in the past, yeah, I said it/ I finally admit it/ I told you it was over then I skinny-dipped and did it/ I should’ve known better but I didn’t overthink it/ And I probably would’ve floated but I sank it/ Took a dive in the deep and forgot to move/ Swam with the fish till my kiss turn blue/ I aired out my sheets ’cause they smell like you/ I cleaned out the salt in my wounds” she warbles on the opening verse, surrounded by a number of nude women posing on a rocky outcropping.
“Skinnydipped is a song about finally letting go of something that you’ve gone back to many times before,” Banks wrote on Instagram. “It’s about knowing your worth, shedding the skin you feel no longer fits, and digesting the freedom that comes with that. Mmmmm. It feels good. It was a really special moment for me to be able to direct this video which depicts woman as I see them…divine, empowered, and wild. A woman who is in tune with her natural-born divinity is untouchable.”Check out the video for “Skinnydipped” below.
The track arrives just two months after fellow single “The Devil” and its rather sinful visual. Both songs are set to be included on Banks’ forthcoming follow-up to her 2019 album III. While the pop star has yet to unveil the project’s title, it’s tentatively expected to be released sometime later this year.
In the earliest days of the pandemic, Banks also released a live EP titled Live and Stripped, featuring scaled-back takes on four songs from across her discography.