Bando Stone & the New World in Bloomington, MN

Donald Glover
had an impressive run using the name
Childish Gambino
. Jumping from goofy, complicated backpack rap to psychedelic R&B auteur, oddball yet convincing trap-rapper to arty pop star with Grammys under his belt -- it's been quite a ride. The soundtrack to his film
Bando Stone & the New World
is like a trip through almost all the phases of his career, which is fitting because this is the last
Gambino
record. Calling on many guests --
Jorja Smith
,
Yeat
Amaarae
Flo Milli
Fousheé
Chlöe
, and
Khruangbin
--
Glover
stitches together a modern pop whirlwind of an album that dips into trap, smooth R&B, jangling indie pop, hyperpop-inflected hip-hop, over-stuffed mainstream pop, and rock balladry while staying true to the sound and persona he's so ably created in the past. The lyrics find him equal parts feisty and family friendly, spitting out witty boasts one second, dueting sweetly with his son
Legend
another. Their track "Can You Feel Me" is the emotional centerpiece of the record, with each of the Glovers getting real in very human, very heartwarming fashion. It's hard to tell how much of the record is based on the movie, but that song and a few others seem yanked straight from
's life. "Lithonia," a thumping hard rock ballad complete with walls of guitars and
Elton John
-worthy piano breakdowns, is another one. If
is faking the emotion here, he'd better clear some space on his bookshelf for an Oscar. The other ballads -- like the stadium-sized "Cruisin'," where he pushes his ever-improving vocals to their very limit, and the lilting '70s folk-soul-inspired "Steps Beach" -- come across like glossy, super-produced modern pop, but with the kind of heart and feeling that's often missing from his contemporaries' music. It's the same when he takes on trap tropes and makes them completely his, investing tracks like "Talk My Shit" with exciting bits of production trickery and daring lyrical twists, or when he swerves into top-notch examples of up-to-date R&B at its smoothest and best -- the
and
-featuring "In the Night" or the languid and lovely "No Excuses." Not content to continue to hone and perfect styles he's already attempted,
steps outside the lines to try out jangling, harmony-filled indie pop ("Real Love"), jarring electro-punk ("Got to Be"), very fun pop-punk ("Running Around," which features excellent work by
), and a laid-back country-rock tune ("Dadvocate") that's shockingly brotastic. He nails the first three genre exercises like a pro and does about as much as anyone could with the last. Much better is the song he does with
, "Happy Survival," grafting his yearning background vocals on top of one of their trademark drifting grooves; unlike the country-rock diversion, this is something it might be fun to hear
pursue further in his next incarnation.
was and will remain one of the success stories of the music biz, and watching
grow and evolve has been a delight.
may not be his best album -- it was always going to be impossible to dislodge
"Awaken, My Love!"
-- but it serves as a fitting summation of all the good-to-great music that has been released under the
banner and might even give some clues as to where he's headed next. ~ Tim Sendra