Me and Your Mama: Already, I really like the very eerie piano intro on this song. And as it progresses, I continue to really appreciate its really dreamy, lighter, prettier instrumental on this, and even if the intro goes on for a really long time, it sounds so beautiful. Things take a really sudden change into a more rock-infused song, which kind of made me a bit sad because I was really digging the dreaminess of the intro. Still, I like Gambino’s really passionate vocals throughout the track and thankfully, the instrumental change ends up working and it makes the song very entertaining. Even if I won’t play this on repeat very often, I do think it’s a good start to the record.
Have Some Love: A very upbeat and funky track, I really like the instrumentation on this one, and I think Gambino’s vocal performance is really interesting, as he explores a lot of different vocal sounds and keeps things pretty interesting. The fact that the hook also talks a lot about togetherness and love is also icing on the cake. Again, nothing I’ll end up looping, but I do enjoy this overall.
Boogieman: Keeping things pretty funky and upbeat, Glover discusses racial fear in this track, and he continues to experiment with a lot of different voices and ideas, all of which end up sticking the landing. There’s also a healthy helping of cowbell on this track so that always helps things out. I also like how, for upbeat and catchy it is, it sounds rather eerie at several points. Definitely a pretty strong track.
Zombies: In what is a much slower jam than the previous songs on the album, Childish Gambino talks a lot about people trying to steal some of your success, doing so through another charismatic performance with another different voice, one that still sounds extremely nice, even if it’s intended to sound more “strange.” Karl Faux also provides some vocals on this track, and overall, her performance, even if it's hardly there, is still fun. I also love the instrumental on this thing, specifically in the guitar solo. I feel like this might end up being a replay-button breaker in the future.
Riot: The shortest song on this album, this track is nonetheless extremely energetic and funky in its short runtime. While Gambino’s voice on this track isn’t necessarily “different” per se, it’s still pretty exciting and fun, and the guitar track on this one is amazing. I don’t see myself breaking the replay button with it, but I do enjoy the song, even if it ends as soon as it starts.
Redbone: What would Redbone sound like if Matt reviewed it? Well, he’d probably tell you that it’s one of his favorite songs on the album, with a really soulful, old-school instrumental, some really strong vocals from Gambino, and a really strong eerie vibe that it has going on. He also really likes how it sounds in the context of the rest of the album, as this slow-jam is the perfect follow-up to the more loud and upbeat “Riot.” He would conclude by saying that, even though the song has been meme’d to death throughout 2017, those memes haven’t soured his impression on the track, and it remains a song that he still absolutely loves.
California: Less so a funk-song and more of a Caribbean-flavored track, Gambino talks about California throughout this track, complete with arguably his weirdest vocal performance yet, with its combination of strange delivery and strange filters on his voice. For a minute, I wasn’t even sure if it was him. But I actually like the track: the vocal performance, while weird, is rather charming, I love the bright instrumental sound on this one, and the track is pretty fun. I feel like this one might grow on me in the future.
Terrified: Much slower and much eerier than the last track, this song nonetheless feels like something of a sequel to “California,” where a more subdued Gambino sings about the girl from the previous track and begins to realize how much he likes her. While I like the eerie instrumentals and Gambino’s charismatic performance, I do think the track is a bit boring, and not as fun as some of the others on this album. Even so, I don’t think it’s one of the worst on the album, and it might grow on me in the future.
Baby Boy: Talking on this track about his newborn child and newfound responsibilities as a father, Gambino takes on the same vocal style from “Redbone,” singing in a higher register, and the song itself sounds a bit like it was made in some kind of video game. I do think it sounds pretty interesting, and Gambino’s vocals remain really strong. I also like Gambino’s ability to tackle a really personal topic on this track, and all in all, the song ends up being pretty enjoyable.
The Night Me and Your Mama Met: An almost entirely instrumental song (there’s some harmonizing here), I like the really funky guitar on this one a lot. Adding the choir also added a strong layer to the events of the song. I really liked it a lot.
Stand Tall: Ending things off, we have a two-part track. Part 1 features Gambino singing without any kind of accent or anything like that: it’s just Gambino singing with his normally impressive voice, and the considerably minimalist instrumental really adds to that. I also love that he chooses to end the album on a song that talks all about positivity. As something we can all use, I totally appreciate that. In Part 2, Gambino takes on a more filtered voice and, while I think his voice is perfectly fine without a filter, I understand the significance of it on this track, as it helps differentiate the two parts. The instrumental is also quite lovely, and even with two parts, this track takes so many interesting twists and turns and stays wonderful throughout.
Overall, I ended up enjoying this album a good bit. I liked Gambino’s really charismatic performances, his strong lyricism that deals with really strong themes that aren’t easy to talk about, and the instrumentals are funky, vibrant, and exciting. For being such a different album, Gambino takes some major risks to his style with this album, and he pretty much sticks the landing each time. I do think it might be a bit too weird for some, and his radical change of sound might scare off a few potential listeners, but I still had a really fun time with this album, and I definitely recommend that you give it a shot. I feel like this album has a lot of potential to grow on me and, even if I don’t listen to all of these tracks on loop, I can’t deny the album’s quality, and I can’t deny that everything about it, from the production, to the lyricism, to the performances, are made with incredible attention and care, and I think that’s why I love the album so much.
WHAT WOULD REDBONE SOUND LIKE IF ahh dammit, never mind.
Favorite tracks: Boogieman, Zombies, Redbone, The Night Me and Your Mama Met, Stand Tall
Least favorite tracks: Riot (if I had to pick one)
Rating: Excellent
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