Album Review: 3.15.20 | Childish Gambino
- lifeisbella
- Apr 13, 2020
- 3 min read
This is Album #20/20 that I listened to for my 2020 challenge. I listened to this album 8 times for my review.
Here are some quick stats about 3.15.20 by Childish Gambino:
Here's my track list breakdown:
0.00
Algorhythm*
Time*
12.38
19.10
24.19
32.22
35.31
39.28
42.26*
47.48
53.49
(Bold- dislike, *- like)
I marked my favorites on the album on my track list breakdown, but even my favorites I didn't particularly like. At least I didn't really like them enough to add them to my playlists where I would continue listening to them in the future. I also don't like that most of the songs are just called by their timestamps. It makes it even harder to me to get connected to and identify each song individually.
This album got overwhelmingly positive reviews. I really don't see the hype. I do think there are some powerful songs on there, but there are also some weird filler songs and very meh songs. I saw people online calling it Glover's "masterpiece." Having two amazing songs doesn't make up for ten standard or outright bad songs. I REALLY dislike "0.00" and "32.22." I don't understand why people include songs like these on albums. I don't understand the purpose of these types of songs at all. Especially with "32.22" I feel like Glover is trying way too hard to be weird and different. I liked "24.19" but then there's this weird grunting/screaming for the whole last minute of the song. Literally why did he have to ruin it with that weird stuff at the end? I do appreciate that some songs are unique by having a throwback influence. I do appreciate that there is a lot of variety between the songs, in tempo, style and influence. I would say that some songs have 70s funk elements and some have 90s R&B influence for example, which I thought kept things interesting. I also just have to acknowledge that this isn't my favorite genre. It's harder for me to get attached to this style of music, so it could just be that I don't understand it due to my preference. This type of music also gives a lot of weight to the lyrics, and that is something that usually isn't as important to me when I'm listening to music so that could also be a factor that explains why I didn't enjoy it as much.
One thing that I do have to commend here is that the lyrics (at least for the most part) aren't full of vulgarity and surficial content. And the vocals aren't completely covered up with autotune. So I definitely do appreciate that there is some depth and complexity here.
Glover is listed as a writer on each of the tracks. Some songs have as few as one other writer, some as many as ten. I'm not sure that he had a major songwriting impact over the entire album, but he definitely is capable of writing songs himself which I commend. "53.49" is one of the most lyrically powerful songs and this is one of the songs that is written by Glover and only two other songwriters.
Listen or don't listen? Don't Listen. I don't really think this is worth listening to. You could give it a try if you like, but I don't think most of the songs on the album are pretty average. The best songs are still pretty average and there are a few bad songs in there. The full album is bearable, but a bearable album isn't something that I would recommend people to listen to.
Buy or don't buy? Don't buy.
I didn't hate this album, but it definitely was a little too weird for me at times. The rest of the album was just pretty forgettable for me. I don't think it was a waste of time for me to listen to this album, but it definitely didn't live up to my expectations. I probably won't go back and listen to this album ever. And my intrigue isn't really piqued to look back at his previous work or look out for future works. I'd give this album a 4/10 for my personal enjoyment. Have you listened to this album? Let me know your thoughts down below.
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