When New Orleans band Tank & the Bangas invited their friends and family to help them cover Hal David and Burt Bacharach’s pop classic “What the World Needs Now Is Love” in January, they embraced the song’s earnest call for kindness, sprinkled in spoken word urging people to come together in peace, and wrapped up with an a cappella solo from Harmony Ball (the young niece of lead singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball), whose childlike sincerity could stir up hope in the bleakest pessimist. In June, the group released that single in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the Equal Justice Initiative, and on their new six-track EP, Friend Goals (Verve Forecast), they echo the song’s longing for connection and authenticity.…
When New Orleans band Tank & the Bangas invited their friends and family to help them cover Hal David and Burt Bacharach’s pop classic “What the World Needs Now Is Love” in January, they embraced the song’s earnest call for kindness, sprinkled in spoken word urging people to come together in peace, and wrapped up with an a cappella solo from Harmony Ball (the young niece of lead singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball), whose childlike sincerity could stir up hope in the bleakest pessimist. In June, the group released that single in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the Equal Justice Initiative, and on their new six-track EP, Friend Goals (Verve Forecast), they echo the song’s longing for connection and authenticity.…