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For Tank and the Bangas, music is a vessel for unbridled joy and transcendent connection—forces as integral to their essence as their wildly original sound. On their new album The Last Balloon, the New Orleans–bred outfit channels those impulses into something celebratory yet profoundly human, exploring themes of frustration, resilience, and self-realization with equal parts raw emotionality and playful exuberance.
A shapeshifting collective helmed by lead singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball and multi-instrumentalist Norman Spence II, the group completed the LP after winning a GRAMMY for 2024’s spoken-word powerhouse The Heart, The Mind, The Soul. The Last Balloon is the final installment in a trilogy that began with 2019’s Green Balloon and follows 2022’s Red Balloon.
Executive-produced by frequent collaborator Austin Brown, The Last Balloon was built to thrive in Tank and the Bangas’ rapturous live set, where unified movement becomes crucial to the show itself. “We’re known for a very interactive experience, so I wanted to get the fans more involved and have even more fun with the crowd,” says Ball. “There’s lots of gang vocals, handclaps, all these intentional moments to let everyone know, ‘This is my part, but your part’s coming up next—so get ready.’”
The album features collaborators including Iman Omari, Tane Runo, Ledisi, Jelly Joseph, and others. Mainly recorded at The Complex Studios in Los Angeles, The Last Balloon unfolds in a loosely woven storyline charting a journey from self-doubt and erasure to empowered self-reclamation.
Song highlights:
- "Ain’t That Deep": a defiant refusal to let negativity penetrate their world, setting Ball’s vocals against hypnotic beats and horns.
- "No Invite": sprung from a punchy piano riff by Spence, a rock-trap takedown of industry gatekeeping and clout-chasing. Ball: “There’s a lot of parties and award ceremonies we don’t get invited to, even though we do a lot for our community and should really be welcomed into those spaces.”
- "Move": featuring two-time GRAMMY winner Lucky Daye, an anthem about urging action and closeness. Ball: “I wrote that song about wanting my partner at the time to move to New Orleans to be closer to me, but you could interpret it as motivation to get moving in general.”
- "Nighttime": the album’s closer, a slow-burning, layered piece with “maybe seven or eight layers of harmonies,” says Spence.
- Other tracks include “Honeycomb” (featuring Akeem Ali) and “Is It Over?”, an impassioned soul-pop piece Ball situates in the context of New Orleanians deciding whether to stay home during a hurricane.
The band’s process grew from the New Orleans poetry community and an improvisational approach. Their rise included winning NPR’s 2017 Tiny Desk Contest and later earning a GRAMMY. The Last Balloon was created with a palpable sense of responsibility to their audience: “We hear from people who travel from city to city to come see us, who tell us that our music helped them get through hard times in their lives,” says Spence. “We all understand that music has real healing properties, so we make sure to put everything out with care in the hopes that it’ll impact everyone in a positive way.”
As Ball explains, The Last Balloon signals both the end of an era and the start of a new phase: “I called the album The Last Balloon because I didn’t want anyone asking us, ‘When’s Purple Balloon coming?’ It’s the end of the balloons; we’re moving into a new space now.” Spence and Ball describe continued creative growth and a commitment to giving listeners “that same feeling of joy. That’s a DNA marker for sure.”
Ariel J. is an artist and former church musician born and raised in Mississippi. Her music blends poetic storytelling, soulful melodies, and forward-thinking production to create a sound that feels both timeless and futuristic. She began singing and learning instruments as a child and started performing at age five. At seventeen, Ariel began writing songs and teaching herself to engineer her own music.
Rooted in R&B yet unbound by genre, her work explores themes of resilience, human connection, and wonder amid rapid change. With every release, Ariel J. seeks to spark reflection and empowerment, inviting listeners into a world where creativity, truth, and hope lead the way. Ariel J.'s mission is to remind people of their own power to imagine, build, and sustain a better future.