Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Childish Gambino: Awaken, My Love ALBUM REVIEW
Childish Gambino is the moniker of successful actor, writer, comedian and musician Donald Glover. And while I think Glover is a funny guy and as an actor he has certainly proven himself to be above his multifaceted peers; his music has never appealed to me. On Camp, his major label debut, he was putting out by the numbers pop-rap that was completely self-obsessed without an ounce of self-reflection and the follow-up full length, Because the Internet was all ambition with no cohesion, though the style of the LP was way more enjoyable. However, these albums, despite what I may think, did have one commonality: they were both rap albums. Sure, Gambino would sing on occasion, but overall, Gambino has been a rapper first and foremost. All of that has changed on his latest LP, Awaken, My Love.
Fans of funk music (or heck, even 90's west-coast hip-hop) will note the blatant Funkadelic nod via the album cover, and for the most part, it looks like a Funkadelic and quacks like a Funkadelic. Especially on tracks like "Me and Your Mama" and "Zombies". But I've got to reiterate; this album is completely devoid of rap songs entirely. In fact, I can see this as being the "haters favorite" and the "fans most hated" Gambino album. I mean, I wouldn't say I hated Gambino up until this point, but I can certainly say he wasn't making great music to me. And while my feelings aren't doing a complete 180, even on this record, I have to say it is easily his finest work to date, based solely on quality of craft.
Awaken, My Love has great structure, vibrant instrumentation, and is a big step up in the consistency department for Gambino. Sure, there are still some under-cooked moments like "Riot", and there are still downright awful moments, like "California" which sounds like Young Thug meets that Pina Colada song. But when this album hits, it really hits; for example, we have the track "Redbone", a sexy and undeniably smooth track that brings to mind the best years of Prince and guys like D'Angelo.
So overall, I think this album is strong, but I can't deny that the sole thing that really drags it down from time to time is the vocal performance, which for the most part ranges from decent to great, but when it's neither of those things Gambino comes off as overly goofy ("Zombies") or downright unbearable ("California"). Which is a shame, because like I said, Gambino is actually a pretty talented singer.
Still, despite not loving it, I've gotta say I recommend this one, purely based on the number of great moments here that, while unable to completely outshine the low moments are more than worth a listen.
7.5/10
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