Review | Bando Stone and The New World, A Final Send-Off To Childish Gambino

Donald Glover is one of the most talented people in the entertainment industry. He’s a seasoned actor, a decorated writer, director, producer and an extremely talented musical artist. But if one were to look up “Donald Glover music” or “Donald Glover albums,” they’d notice a different name appears in the results — Childish Gambino. 

On July 19, Childish Gambino released his final album, “Bando Stone and The New World.” I have been a Childish Gambino fan for most of my life, and this album was a bittersweet way to end the moniker. The album perfectly encapsulates the years and changes in Gambino’s storied career, including bits and pieces from each of his other albums that, for me at least, work well together.

After Glover found quick success as a writer on “30 Rock,” followed by a role as one of the fan-favorite characters in the cult classic TV show, “Community,” his character, Troy, was notably absent in the later seasons. Many fans were extremely sad to see Glover go and felt there was an obvious void without him that was impossible to fill. Eventually, fans realized Glover left to focus on his musical career and it became the introduction for many of his early fans to Childish Gambino. 

Over a decade later, Gambino has released five studio albums, has become a household name and won five Grammys. His impact on the musical world is vast with several hit songs and an ever-evolving musical style. Primarily starting as a rapper, his music reaches into rock, soul, funk and indie genres, creating albums that appeal to all sorts of audiences. 

But all good things have to come to an end, so when Glover announced the release of the album “Bando Stone and The New World,” he also revealed that it would be Childish Gambino’s final album. As the multi-hyphenate that he is, he would not be going out without a bang, and he revealed “Bando Stone and The New World” would be the soundtrack to a film of the same title that Glover will direct and star in. The film does not yet have a release date, but many of the songs feature audio clips from the movie.

“Bando Stone and The New World” features 17 different tracks, all completely new and never-before heard, save for the two singles on the album, “Lithonia” and “In The Night.” Over Glover’s long career as Childish Gambino, he constantly evolved his styles and techniques with each new project. This one is no different, but as the final Childish Gambino album, it brings together all of the style Gambino has used in the past. While the project as a whole is most similar to “Atavista,” bits and pieces of his previous albums can be heard throughout the album. 

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when listening to “Bando Stone” is that it is a soundtrack. When listening to most albums from start to finish, there should be a flow to the songs. The placement of each track matters and should flow thematically and musically from song to song. That being said, this album does not do any of this. It often feels very disjointed, with song transitions feeling almost jarring. This is, of course, because the album was created with the upcoming film in mind, which explains the disjointed feel.

There is clearly a lot going on with “Bando Stone and The New World,” and it should come as no surprise that the album is deeply polarizing. Reviewers praised the album’s ingenuity while others found it to be disappointing. I would say I fall into the former rather than the latter. 

As a long time Gambino fan, I love his experimentation. There are a lot of harsh, sci-fi-esque stabs filling the production which creates a very gritty sound in many of the tracks. Gambino fills many of the songs with various samples, and this crate-digging makes for an especially unique sound. Glover matches these unique instrumentals with various vocal effects, including reverb and a crushed, 8-bit filter over his voice in songs like “”H3@RT$ W3RE M3@NT T0 F7¥.” Gambino started out as a rapper, and he celebrates this past in songs like “Yoshinoya” and “Talk My Sh*t,” which features rappers Amaarae and Flo Milli. 

The features are another aspect of the album that I would be remiss to skip over. Gambino worked with a plethora of artists including Fousheé, Yeat, Jorja Smith, Chlöe and long time collaborator Ludwig Göransson. He even has his son — under the name “Legend” — sing with him in “Can You Feel Me,” which feels a little gimmicky, but is ultimately adorable nonetheless. Other songs like “Dadvocate” have a much lighter indie rock feel to them, and it’s refreshing that Glover is not afraid to show off his vocal range. 

Overall, I think “Bando Stone and The New World” was a perfect send off to Childish Gambino. Glover allowed himself to have fun with the album and continue to experiment while celebrating each musical phase he went through in his career. I think this was a pitch-perfect send-off to one of my favorite artists of all time. Stand-outs on the album included “Lithonia,” “Steps Beach,” “Yoshinoya,” “Dadvocate” and “No Excuses.”

In a Hot Ones interview, Glover reflected about the purpose of this final Childish Gambino project, along with the high-tech tour that visited Pittsburgh on Sept. 20.

“This last sunset walk is really about, like, this is for the fans, this is for you,” Glover said.