Childish Gambino - "Bando Stone and The New World"
Childish Gambino’s fifth studio album, Bando Stone and The New World, is probably the strangest little outlier of an album I’ve reviewed, to-date. Not because it’s anything stylistically odd or unexpected, but because of exactly what it is.
More on that in a moment.
First, if you aren’t familiar with Childish Gambino, his real name is Donald Glover, and he is a multipronged talent — rapper, singer, actor, comedian, and more. He got his start writing episodes of 30 Rock for Tine Fey in 2007, when he was 23, then went on to act in Community and Atlanta1 on the TV side; he’s also played The Prowler in Spiderman: Homecoming, Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story, and he was the voice of Simba in the live-action The Lion King —just to name a few of his more notable acting credits.
His music career kicked off in 2011 with a wildly successful debut album, Camp.2 And by ‘wildly successful’, I mean that it debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200. Most debut albums don’t get anywhere near that list. By comparison:
Taylor Swift’s debut album (2007) debuted at #19;
Kendrick Lamar’s debut album (also 2011), debuted at #119;
and neither debut from Noah Kahan (2019) or Chappell Roan (2023), both of whom have been absolutely blowing up recently, did not have their respective albums chart at release. Kahan’s never charted.
All of that is to say that Glover has been incredibly successful (and deservedly so) since he leapt into making music. He approaches the composition process differently, I think, than others in the Hip-Hop/R&B sphere — and we really have to classify him broadly as a result. His music is as much Psychedelia as it is R&B; he incorporates elements of Indie Pop and Soul while rapping.
I was not, unfortunately, very aware of Glover in 2020 when he released his last album, so this is the first time I’m reviewing his work, rather than just listening for fun. And that’s a bit unfortunate, as it’s also the final album for Childish Gambino. Glover revealed in 2017 that the name, as a project, had a limited lifespan, and indicated that the next Gambino album would be the last. But then Covid hit and Glover’s father died; the fourth Gambino album, 3.15.20, was released before it was actually finished; it was finished and re-released earlier this year as Atavista. And now Bando Stone has the honor of being the final Gambino album.
Probably.
More importantly, Bando Stone ties several of Glover’s passions together, as it is not only a studio album; not only a concept album; but also a soundtrack album for a film (by the same name) which he directs and stars in. There is no release date listed at the time of this writing, but it will seemingly be released in IMAX, and there is a trailer, which I’m including below:
Several of the dialogue snippets which are included in the trailer are also audible in the album as part of the apparent frame story, but these are all included in the song tracks — there are no skit tracks to separate these elements from the songs. This frame story follows along with the movie plot — the titular Bando Stone, a popular musician, finds himself trying to survive in an apocalyptic scenario.
However, the impact that this frame story has on the album’s songs is minimal, at best. There are a few lead-ins (such as the spoken line at the end of opener “H3@rt$ W3re M3@nt t0 F7¥”, in which the movie’s female lead, Jessica Alain, says “Nobody cares” — and track two, “Lithonia”, states “nobody gives a fuck”). And track three is titled “Survive”.
Otherwise, the frame is irrelevent, and Bando Stone’s potential identity as a concept album is questionable at best. Personally, I find that really disappointing, because what this album truly needs is something to hold it together.
But let me address what is here, because this review is probably coming across as fairly negative thus far.
Bando Stone and The New World consists of seventeen very eclectic tracks spanning a full hour of music. It’s a very filling musical meal, and no one song really nails down what this album is. As I said above, Glover doesn’t constrain himself stylistically — and this rings especially true in Bando Stone. You like Hip-Hop? You’re in luck. R&B? Wouldn’t be a Gambino album without some of that. Dream Pop? Why not? Prefer some rock vibes? We got those too.
And the list goes on.
Basically the only common element across every single track is Glover, himself. But every song is good. Like, the weakest track is “Can You Feel Me”, and that’s because it’s very pared back — because the focus is on this father-son duet between Donald and his eight-year-old son, Legend. It’s cute.
Of course, this is followed by “No Excuses”, which is a Latin/Jazz fusion track with a lot going on.
The diversity on Bando Stone is genuinely incredible. I mean, this is exactly how I like to listen to my music, and is reminiscent of my main playlists — huge, eclectic things where I have no idea what sound or vibe is coming next.
So, genuinely, if you like any of the genres or styles that I’ve mentioned thus far, I do think this is a really solid album in terms of the quality of the tracks.
The thing it really lacks is cohesion. Purpose. A statement.3 There are ways to drive these elements musically even when working with eclectic and disparate styles and elements — do I need to remind anybody of 2023’s AOTY at this point? But there’s no cohesive foundation here. Not really. And even with the film plot/frame story being loosely referenced throughout, this really just feels like a collection of songs. Really good songs, sure, but these could fit on any album. Their presence here, on this specific album, feels entirely coincidental.
Obviously, I have some seriously mixed feelings on this one. Still, it’s very good, start-to-finish. I’m going to add this to the pile of cans I’m kicking down the road.
Rating: Teal
I should note that he not only acts in Atlanta, but it’s his show. He’s the creator, showrunner, executive producer, and lead writer.
If you’re among the minority and haven’t heard anything from that album, check out “Heartbeat” here (youtube link).
I mean, aside from the digs at Drake in the opening track. Those are great, but come on. Digging at Drake is basically the pastime for the entire Hip-Hop genre in 2024.