3.15.20 / Childish Gambino / March 22, 2020
- Joshua Yoo
- Apr 28, 2020
- 1 min read
Updated: Sep 13, 2020
Gambino’s latest album is an innovative project reflective of Donald Glover’s desire to grow as an artist and push his creativity to it’s limit. The album utilizes uncommon combinations of sound, including slightly distorted synths on top of traditional instruments, reminiscent of “IGOR” or “Discovery” by Daft Punk. However, although creative, tracks are either hit or miss. Although most songs hold up well in their combination of sound, others sound unique only for the sake of being unique, missing the “fine line between clever and random”. However, both the wordplay and vocals are severely lacking. We’ve seen Gambino’s wordplay and variate, ranging from very literal to extremely metaphorical, and somehow, he’s found a perfect combination between both in most songs. However, that same wordplay cannot be found in “3.15.20”, either being harder to understand or straight up not present. That is not to say they don’t exist, but if the message or theme of a song is not inherently detectable, it might as well not exist. Mixing can tend to drown out lyrics in some cases but is overall well done. Gambino’s lack of wordplay may be intentional though, as Gambino seems to be going for an abstract angle. Although unique and undoubtedly entertaining, it feels like a gimmick, lacking replay value and clever lyricism Gambino is typically known for.
Best Track(s): 39.28, 42.26
Lowlight(s): 32.22, Time, 12.38
SCORE: 6/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJTC7p2wQwo
Comments