The album was met with positive reviews from critics, who praised its eclectic production, mature songwriting and Glover's vocal performance, but were mixed on its lack of cohesiveness. At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, Bando Stone & the New World was nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album.
Background
In 2017, Donald Glover revealed he planned to retire the stage name Childish Gambino after his next project, telling the Governors Ball Music Festival attendees, "I'll see you for the last Gambino album".[2] In 2018, Glover won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance for his 2016 single "Redbone". At the Q&A following the ceremony, Glover reiterated his intention to retire the Gambino moniker and release a final project, saying "I think endings are good because they force things to get better".[3] Glover told attendees of the This is America Tour that the tour would be Childish Gambino's final tour.[4] In 2020, Glover unceremoniously released the studio album 3.15.20 in an unfinished state amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of his father. It was unknown at the time if the release would be Glover's final Childish Gambino project.[5][6]
In 2023, Glover confirmed that Childish Gambino had not been retired yet, revealing that he was in the process of making new music.[7] During a livestream in May 2024 from Glover's production company Gilga, Glover announced that he would be releasing two albums in the same year. The first would be a finished version of 3.15.20, now titled Atavista; the second would be an all-new album titled Bando Stone and The New World, the soundtrack to a tentpole film from Gilga of the same name. Glover confirmed the latter release would act as the final album under the moniker of Childish Gambino.[8][9]
Atavista officially released on May 13, 2024, with Glover confirming the release for the all-new Childish Gambino in the summer of the same year.[10] A world tour, called "The New World Tour", was announced by Glover the same week.[11]
Concept and writing
The project features Glover taking on the role of Bando Stone, a singer stumbling into a post-apocalyptic world before teaming up with a woman and her son to fight prehistoric creatures and try to escape from an unexplained phenomenon that seems to delete "chunks" of the world.[12][13] Glover began work on both the album and the film after completing the final season of his television series Atlanta in 2022. The concept of the film stemmed from Glover trying to find a purpose for his work, with the film revolving around a musician trying to survive a global calamity.[14]
Glover called the album a "big goodbye album" and stated he wanted to force the audience to participate and to use their imagination.[15] He said he focused on making anthemic songs, allowing for a sense of togetherness when played in large rooms. He also focused on not shying away from wholesomeness and joy on the record, saying "No one on their deathbed is going to look back and say, 'Thank God I avoided being cringe.'"[14]
The film, touted as an IMAX exclusive event, had its first trailer premiere in IMAX with showings of A Quiet Place: Day One, releasing on YouTube on July 1, 2024.[19]
The album's lead single, "Lithonia", was released on July 2, 2024, with the album being dated for release on July 19.[20] It is a guitar-driven rock song named after the city of Lithonia in Georgia.[21] Abby Jones of Stereogum described the song as "dramatic" and "rock-heavy".[22] On July 22, Glover released the official music video for "Lithonia", featuring appearances from Alex Wolff, Ludwig Göransson, and Suzanna Son.[23][24]
Bando Stone & the New World was met with positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from professional publications, the album received a weighted mean score of 72, based on eight reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[29] The review aggregator site AnyDecentMusic? compiled seven reviews and gave the album an average of 6.9 out of 10.[28]
Variety's Jem Aswad declared the album as not only Glover's "best and most far-reaching musical project to date," but easily one of the top albums of 2024.[17] Robin Murray of Clash called Bando Stone & the New World an "exceptional" work of "maturity and vision, out-pacing [Glover's] peers to deliver something vital, and true to himself."[30]The Independent's Louis Chilton believes the "overgrown opus" does little to dispel Glover's reputation as a "self-serious artiste", but its maximalist aesthetic and sublime production lives up to the hype.[18]
Much of the criticism Bando Stone & the New World received was aimed at its continuity. NME's Kyann-Sian Williams felt the album's lack of a "clear sense" of cohesion or theme made it a "bittersweet" farewell to Childish Gambino.[32] Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork agreed, writing the "strained" and "familiar" record takes algorithmic swings rather than experimental.[33] Christopher R. Weingarten, in his review for Rolling Stone, argued that some of Glover's ideas would have been better served if he had hired Weezer or Pusha T to deliver them.[34]
