A timely message from Donald Glover to find love in every moment.
Donald Glover, one of the most multi-talented artists of the 21st century, released his experimental 4th studio album 3.15.20 on exactly that date. The record was live streamed initially, under the singer/rapper/actor/producer’s name, before being released as an album a week later under the alias, Childish Gambino. The record is fronted by a certainly nonintrusive plain white cover, keeping the contents of the album a mystery. This, along with the naming of the majority of the tracks by the time at which they arrive through the album, begs the question as to whether the album lacks inspiration in terms of a concept, a story, a theme, or whether Glover designed the album in this way to minimise any preconceptions of what may be within.
In fact the album turns out to be a collection of juxtapositions, an hour of genre bending, experimenting and emotion. 3.15.20 encompasses elements of much of Gambino’s previous work, particularly channelling the psychedelic funk and soul of 2016s Awaken, My Love!. On this album though Glover takes risks with tracks which may seem out of place at first, but usually find their place as one gets to know the album. There are exceptions, “42.26”, previously released as “Feels like Summer” in 2018, hits the vibe it’s going for, but doesn’t add much in terms of content relevant to the album, and stylistically doesn’t seem to belong here either.
On first listening, the intro track, “0.00” quickly fades into background noise as the atmospheric synths and distant chants of “We are, we are, we are” don’t seem to create much interest around what may be to come. However, returning to this introduction having heard the album in full makes for a more interesting listen, as the chants suddenly have meaning, as a celebration of the moment, not “we were” or “we will be”, but focussing on the present. This idea of living in the moment becomes a central topic as the next song “Algorhythm” (yeah, not a good title) is a bold critique of the technological takeover of our lives. The chorus and falsetto backing vocals provide a sense of what we all wanted to hear from Donald on this album as he exploits his natural talent, though the heavy processing and robot effect doesn’t do him any favours. This modifying and filtering of his voice is used throughout the album in a fashion reflecting Tyler, The Creator’s work, in fact, 3.15.20 invokes memories of Tyler’s 2015 release Cherry Bomb with its experimental use of genre and style.
Glover’s unmistakable love of psychedelic funk is present as ever on this record, with tracks “Time” and “19.10” utilising this influence, though perhaps not to its full potential as Glover’s performance seem to be lacklustre at times, being out-sung by Ariana Grande on “Time”.
“12.38” is one of the high points of this album, when the charisma of Gambino’s soulful, expressive voice shows its colour. The funky, kaleidoscopic groove and a beautifully smooth verse from 21 Savage compliment the almost comical narrative, focussing on human interaction and an accidental shroom trip, making this track a memorable one.
Following this, “19.10” highlights the need to stay conscious of being exploited throughout life, and showing heavy Prince influence over another undeniably dance orientated beat, makes for an enjoyable listen, though falls short of some level of excitement in the vocal department. “24.19” follows and gives a strong throwback to Awaken, My Love!, particularly the hit song “Redbone”, with its laidback, psychedelic groove. Though this creates a welcome relaxing break in the album’s wild experimentalism, 8 minutes is a few too many, considering we get the message after 3 or 4. Having said that, the final 60 seconds of the track prove crucial in the concept of the album, as he seemingly wakes up in a panic, linking to the chaotic fear of “Algorhythm” as if he’s woken up from this technological nightmare into the real world. His breathing settles and becomes relieved as he settles into the ‘woke’ world.
“32.22”, hits us with an aggressive beat in total contrast to the previous track, and whereas much of the contrast Gambino has applied to the album works, this feels like a totally different sound world. Not a hit.
From here we have “35.31” which, similarly to “Feels Like Summer”, aims at a summery ambiance which works, but lacks any meaningful point of interest or content. Between these two tracks we have Glovers attempt at self-harmonised a cappella, which would have worked beautifully as an interlude or introduction to a song, however three minutes of it seems excessive in this case.
The final two songs prove to be the saving graces of the second half of this record, as “47.48” kicks off with a slow funk beat and brings up the worries Glover has about bringing his child up in the world he’s described throughout the album, and ‘the violence’ surrounding everyday life. The track ends with one of the most precious moments of Glovers work, as he talks with his son, Legend, about love and self-love. When Legend asks his father if he loves himself, we hear his response “I do love myself”, one of the most welcome and touching moments of the album considering how Gambino has talked about his insecurities and struggles with self-doubt throughout his career.
The closing track, “53.49” turns out to be one of the most exciting songs off this record, though it sounds at times as though Gambino is trying a little too much to bring out his inner Anderson .Paak, where maybe a feature could have worked a treat. The gospel inflected finale brings the album to a celebratory end as Glover shares his new-found self-love with his audience, declaring “There is love in every moment under the sun”.
Despite obvious downfalls, in terms of unfinished ideas and seemingly a lack of constant inspiration, 3.15.20 weighs in with greater successful moments than otherwise. The message of the album comes timely as well, as Glover reminds us that through isolation and the fear and desperation we can feel in our surrounding world, we can always find love and peace in the moment if we want it.
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