Childish Gambino can do no wrong. At least, that is what his die-hard fans would have us believe. Donald Glover is an artistic weapon and is spiralling out of fashion. Bando Stone and The New World is a fascinating project more for the man behind it than the context of its release. With the weight of touring on his shoulders and the alleged farewell reception set to be received later this year, it is hard to argue against the relevance of these final instalments. But capping your career and ending it are two different things, as LCD Soundsystem showed after five years out. Bando Stone and The New World is by no means a bad album to go out on – if Gambino is set to do so – but it does leave much room for growth in a constantly evolving, at times interesting sound.
His sounds of liberation in the under-hated and overmedicated world feel cut straight from the average Twitter feed. Lithonia has an exceptional tenderness to it through its instrumental function, but its lyrical components are nothing more than the anti-bile stance seen as common sense. That it may be, but exploring it further is necessary. Bando Stone and The New World may warn of a world which does not give a fuck, but Gambino has the same limited care by the sounds of it. It remains consistent in its evaluation of problems but lacks the fury to make light of it or loathe it with new ideas. Duds like Steps Beach filter through with unrewarding notions of the life Glover has ahead of himself. Nothing wrong with it, just nothing particularly right or wild – a shameful middle ground which begins to possess what could have been a competent dissection of why Glover is set to hang up the moniker which brought him major success.
Most of these tracks have a piece of brilliance fluttering through them but are undermined by the malaise running through them. Talk My Shit has a powerful backing vocal towards its end but is undermining itself with the ease with which listeners can slot these into place with the mood of Gambino’s upcoming film. Got To Be feels like it is reserved for some generic chase scene and the music is fitting of those background fodder shots featured in action dramas. Bando Stone and The New World is full of solid ideas with the occasional filler overtaking any chance at grounded, tender work. Is Yoshinoya an admittance of being tired with the act or another impenetrable Gambino moment? Who knows. It is hard to untangle his efforts not because they have depth but because they offer no guiding hand. There is little to be guided through, though, a children’s corn maze in song form.
Gambino has never been a friend of subtlety and where it harms No Excuses, it is also what makes it such a joy to listen to. Well-layered and filled with beautiful textures of calling time on a decade-long musical project. Few will have captured as many ears as Gambino did. But what did he do once they were in the palm of his hand? Toyed with them. Bando Stone and The New World is more half-hearted playfulness from an artist who, when cornered and asked for a powerhouse hit against the world, came up with reference-heavy chores like This is America. His message is important, his delivery is as dated as it gets. Carrier pigeons dropping scribbles from a forgotten time. Gambino falls behind but finds some joy in the themes of isolation and closure throughout this mixed-bag album.
