Childish Gambino- Bando Stone & the New World
Label: RCA
Producers: Donald Glover, Dahi, Ludwig Goransson, Oscar Holter, Khruangbin, Steve Lacy, Max Martin, Kurtis McKenzie, Michael Uzowuru, Dylan Wiggins
Donald Glover returns with what he has billed as the final chapter in the Childish Gambino catalog, and while claims of such supposed finality have been a curious trend among popular recording artists of late, the richly conceptual Bando Stone & the New World does indeed present itself with plenty of qualities that would make for a fitting grand finale from the eclectic performer. For starters, the record itself has been positioned as a preceding musical piece for an apparent apocalyptic film that Glover will be releasing in the near future. This narrative casts Glover in the role of the fictional Bando, who accompanies a single mother and her child as they navigate through a post-apocalyptic society. This element of reckoning and reconciling one’s place in a forever-changed world serves as a fitting metaphor for an artist who’s reached the climax of a creative endeavor. Glover certainly makes the most of those elevated stakes by throwing all of his artistic inclinations into the project. He vibrantly explores the vast stylistic landscape that has always informed his work, incorporating his most fully-formed and unique interpretations of genres spanning R&B, Hip Hop, jazz, pop, and electronica. He likewise uses this final opportunity to indulge in a plethora of collaborations with everyone from Chloe, Amaarae, and Flo Milli to Yeat, Foushee and Khruangbin to his son, Legend. He also impressively strikes an accessibility and balance that’s rare to find on a concept record, of which the performances not only meld together thematically as a singular body of work, but also succeed on their own as individual pieces. The album is unquestionably best experienced as a single, chronological discovery, complete with the excerpts of dialogue lifted from the film that serve as interludes between tracks. Nonetheless, the album also offers a generous batch of standout tracks that would make smash-worthy singles. Infectious electropop bangers abound with “Real Love”, the Foushee feature “Running Around”, and the soulfully thumping finale, “A Place Where Love Goes”. R&B and Hip-Hop gloriously mash-up on tracks like the instantly addictive opener, “Hearts Were Meant to Fly”, “Survive” with Chloe, and “Cruisin'” with Yeat. However, the very best, show-stopping moments are produced when Glover leans into his passionate and gorgeously dramatic brand of R&B, from the folksy charm of “Steps Beach” to the alluring “In the Night” to the flat-out mesmerizing centerpiece, “Lithonia”. Moments in this realm remind us that Glover had the goods to build a superstar profile on the level of contemporaries like Justin Timberlake and The Weeknd if he had chosen such a path. With an ambitiously colorful and astutely executed vision, Bando Stone & the New World proves to be one of the year’s most thrilling releases, and precisely the kind of grandiose, cinematic moment that every swan song should be. Time will only tell if it truly proves to be Childish Gambino’s final farewell, but if it does, it undoubtedly wraps things up on a gloriously high note.
Track Listing:
- “Hearts Were Meant to Fly” (Donald Glover, Ama Genfi)
- “Lithonia” (Glover, Max Martin, Michael Uzowuru, Goransson Riley Mackin)
- “Survive” featuring Chloe (Glover, Chloe Bailey, Stephen Glover, Dacoury Natche, Uzowuru, Goransson)
- “Steps Beach” (Glover, Brittany Foushee, Steve Lacy)
- “Talk My Shit” featuring Amaarae and Flo Milli (Glover, Tamia Carter, Genfi)
- “Got to Be” (Glover, Luther Campbell, Harry Wayne Casey, Richard Finch, Keith Flint, Liam Howlett, Tyler Johnson, Keith Palmer, Uzowuru)
- “Real Love” (Glover, Jordan Brown, Juan Contreras, Dylan Wiggins, Uzowuru)
- “In the Night” featuring Jorja Smith and Amaarae (Glover, Jayla Darden, Genfi Chukwudi Hodge, McKenzie Natche, Ely Rise, Tierra Whack)
- “Yoshinoya” (Glover, Scott M. Carter, Vanessa D. Wood)
- “Can You Feel Me” featuring Legend (Glover, Joseph Raposo, Uzowuru)
- “No Excuses” featuring Ludwig Goransson (Glover, Goransson, Orinda, Uzowuru)
- “Cruisin” featuring Yeat (Glover, Goransson, Natche, Noah Smith, Uzowuru)
- “We Are Good” (Glover, Natche)
- “Running Around” featuring Foushee (Glover, Foushee, Johnson, Mackin, Uzowuru)
- “Dadvocate” (Glover, Wiggins, Uzowuru)
- “Happy Survival” featuring Khruangbin (Khruangbin, Eddie Okwedy)
- “A Place Where Love Goes” (Glover, Goransson, Oscar Holter, Martin, Notche)
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