After nearly 20 years of releasing music under the moniker, it looks like Donald Glover’s time as Childish Gambino is coming to an end. He’s teased the possibility when he dropped Atavista (his re-released version of his 2020 album 3.15.20) and made good on the promise by dropping his final album as Childish, the soundtrack to the upcoming film Bando Stone And The New World.
He pulls out all the stops for Bando Stone, flitting between genres, styles and flows as he tells the story of the film (which still lacks an official release date). Many of the cuts seem to coalesce the many phases of his Childish persona. The includes falsetto vocals reminiscent of his hit single “Sober” on standout “Steps Beach” and tricky, double entendre flows on cuts like “Talk My S**t” and “Yoshinoya” that remind us of his Camp days.
He goes further with experimentation though, mixing in elements of stadium rock (“Lithonia”), pop punk (“Real Love” and “Running Around”) and even a genre-less, global kind of sound (“Happy Survival”). He also makes sure to invite a few high-profile friends — including Amaarae, Chlöe, Fousheé and Jorja Smith — to help flesh things out.
There doesn’t appear to be a wasted moment on Bando Stone, with it seeming that Donald wanted to give Childish Gambino a proper send-off while showing the many artistic places he’s been able to traverse while performing as the character.
We shouldn’t fret about the retirement of Childish Gambino, though. One, we have an entire cinematic experience that goes along with this album coming soon. Two, we also have his The New World Tour (with the artist promising it will be the “best live show you’ve ever seen”) just around the corner.
It’s also worth noting that he’s said that this will be the final Childish Gambino album. We don’t think anyone creating music at this level could ever stay away for too long. And, because of that, we can’t help but wonder what a Donald Glover album will sound like in the future.
Childish Gambino Bando Stone And The New World [Amazon][Apple Music][TIDAL]
