There are few artists who have reveled in frustrating their audience quite like Donald Glover. Ever since leaving Community in 2013, he has turned his attention to mixing high profile gigs like Solo: A Star Wars Story (2019) with what can politely be called art projects. Nowhere is this more true than when trying to understand just what is going on in the TV series Atlanta, where no idea is too weird to give a half-hour to. Just when you think that you have him pegged, he goes and pulls out a few surprises.
Nowhere is that more apparent than with his sprawling work as Childish Gambino. Upon ascending to a major label, Glover has used his music to experiment with the very idea of form. It began on his second album “Because the Internet,” which would be indecipherable without knowing that it was accompanying a film. Along with mixtapes, he continued to push boundaries of just what he was going for before returning with “Awaken My Love” and proving that he had indeed moved on from the rap world. It was a bombastic record that was as rooted in Afro-Futurism as it was R&B and other popular American styles. The fact that there was even news that he was about to kibosh Childish Gambino entirely in favor of a new project now plays like a practical joke, though why he would do it is not clear.
To predict where Glover was going is a fool’s errand, and it only continued to get more confusing when his multiples personas began to overlap. Remember when he hosted Saturday Night Live and premiered the music video for “This Is America” in close proximity? He’s always trying to surprise audiences, and even when he’s making provocative and political commentary, he can’t help but do it his way: a hybrid of everything that came before with what was next. Childish Gambino is next, and we all just had to wait and see.
While “This Is America” was a hit single and one of the most viral videos of its time, it never actually appeared on an album. Those who kept waiting for it was likely annoyed to know it was, at best, going to be shoehorned into his short Java (2019). With Atlanta pretty much scheduled to take a few years off between seasons, Glover has become the master of frustrating his audience, leaving them wanting more. He’s crouched behind us, waiting for our guard to be completely down. Just as we think he’ll never come back, he rattles the cage and presents something that jerks us back to life.
That explains his latest project, which muddies the water even further. While it was initially released as “Donald Glover Presents” on his YouTube page, it was pulled 12 hours later before reemerging as “3.15.20.” While that numerical title makes sense (it’s the release date), it’s only the tip of Glover’s latest frustrating iceberg. Where most people revel in clarity, he wants you to second guess yourself, constantly become confused by the very idea of music.
If you were to immediately look at the tracklist, you’d be forgiven for the confusion. With exception to Track 2 (“Algorithm”) and Track 3 (“Time”), there are no names. Even the most popular track (“Feels Like Summer,” itself first released July 2018) is reduced to the unflattering name “42.26.” This is because the album is chronicling every song based on how late into the album it appears.
It’s the type of tease that demands you to try and find new ways to remember just what song fell where. Better yet, it’s asking you to figure out what they even sound like. There’s nothing exciting or memorable about a track called “0.00” or “35.31.” Maybe it’s just to be antagonistic, and that we’re weeks away from a more polished result. That is of course to suggest that Glover wasn’t above playing with his audience, forcing them to see music in abstract manners. He demands for you to stay there, listening through and determining what makes any of them special.
This is also thanks in large part because the album pushes more boundaries than ever before. There is something distinctive about “Because the Internet” and “Awaken My Love.” You can pretty much tell each album apart. The best that can be said is that this is his most manic, managing to range from laid back, chill songs to more sensual and aggressive tunes. It’s almost fitting that this album doesn’t have a proper name because of how every idea feels like an orphan from another record. Together it’s one of the most engaging collages that Glover has ever created.
From the ether comes Childish Gambino on “0.00” where a brief moment of silence breaks through to distorted vocals that shine through high pitched reverb. At first blush, it’s hard to know just what he’s getting at. Still, it builds and makes you more curious to know what is going on in this electronica-filled atmosphere. It’s immersive but more importantly, it’s playful, capturing an artist who loves challenging his voice to go as deep as possible, making you struggle to understand just what is going on. Considering how abruptly it begins, it’s meant to catch you off guard. You’re supposed to wonder what’s in store.
For reasons that don’t entirely make sense, Glover choosing to call the next two songs anything but timestamps is a curious affair. Even then, it creates an understanding of what this record is going for. It’s supposed to question things like time and order. These aren’t necessarily the catchiest songs, but they do have radical shifts from each other. Glover has the dexterity to his voice as he welcomes in the first of his guest vocals with Ariana Grande on “Time.” It sounds celebratory, especially as Glover sings about needing more time. Don’t worry though, he’ll get as much as he needs by the end of this.
The theme of this album feels much more cryptic than every other album that he’s made. As it gets further in, it ranges from a feel-good summertime song like “35.31” where he’s singing “Bigfoot, bigfoot, get out the way!” to the more intimate “47.48,” where he brings in his family to discuss creating a world that’s free of violence. It’s a sprawling song that sways over six minutes, creating this deeper sense of Glover’s evolution as an artist. He isn’t just the manic force who wants to rile up an audience. He wants to make the world a better place in whatever ways he can.
The world no longer has barriers. If he wants to sing in a falsetto, he can. To hear him break into those high decibels is to hear a jubilant artist at the peak of his expression. Glover has transcended genres with such gravitas that you’re just in awe of his ability to jump from R&B into something with heavy guitar riffs. Everything plays at his whim, and it’s a beautiful sound that never lets up. It may end with experimental outros that glitch with no purpose, but it shows every corner of Glover’s mind trying to make sense of the potential of music.
Even with the shift in energy, there is something to be said for what he ends up with. On “39.28,” he chooses to sing an entire song with doubled vocals. It creates a deeper, unnerving vocal harmony that makes everything to follow surreal. It’s basically looking at the reason why we shouldn’t go to a party but do anyways, reflecting a deeper loneliness inside of his character.
Within his prism is this battle of a man who is lonely and jubilant, questioning his place in the world. He is trying to come to terms with what value life has when it’s surrounded by so many obstacles. It becomes abundantly clear towards the ending tracks. It isn’t just in how “47.48” he interviews his daughter. It would be just a gimmick if that was the case. Instead, it’s a commentary on whether or not he’s happy. It feels like a moment that plays like someone coming to terms with their emotional state, having explored their life and come to terms with everything. It’s supposed to ride off into the sunset, but no… that’s not how Childish Gambino would do things.
He’d rather end with a celebration. “53.49” is that final blast of fresh air, barely held together at the seams, as Glover sings from deep in his soul about how free he feels. Life has so much purpose now, and it’s like he’s broken through personal barriers. You can’t help but celebrate when the album comes to the end, hearing the chorus proudly declare the value of life. It’s self-expression at its finest. It’s also a moment dissonant from everything that came before with such aggression. He’s no longer repressed. He did what he wanted to, and boy was it worth it.
This record will always stand out. Even if it changes and has a more conventional name, it will be the record that was so difficult to promote because of how unsexy the packaging was. There’s no name on most of the songs, and there’s even less in the ways of artwork. There’s technically a single out there, but you wouldn’t know it because it’s been renamed. Glover has managed to make a great record that expands the potential of music to its full potential while hiding behind anonymity. What does any of it mean? There’s no real clear picture, but it does feel like that’s the point. It’s one of those records that deserve to be listened to and memorized in an attempt to make sense of anything. It’s a playful way to be frustrating, and that’s exactly what makes Childish Gambino all the more exciting.
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