After a somewhat confusing rollout involving a mysterious website that could only have come from the mind of the eccentric and boundlessly creative Renaissance man that is Donald Glover, Childish Gambino’s “single-track opus” 3.15.20 has finally arrived on streaming services and it’s just as wonderfully weird as you might expect.

Featuring a couple songs that Glover has been debuting live dating back years and some new ones that feel eerily appropriate amidst the COVID-19 panic, it’s evident that Glover has been doing a lot of thinking about the end of the world. He sings mournfully about some unknown climactic event on the horizon, feeling newly ill-prepared to face it strongly after his father’s recent death.

3.15.20 is perhaps Glover’s most spastic project yet in terms of sound and it’s hard not to feel a little disoriented listening to it, but it’s clear that this raw release of emotion functions more as personal catharsis than commercial release. This album is much more for him than it is for us.

Featuring ruminations on everything from the takeover of artificial intelligence to the negative effects a violent world has on his young son, Glover brings back his raps a couple times but once again soars highest when he steps into the role of the disruptive and politically-charged experimental funk pioneer. 

Best Track: 53.49

Listen to the full album online here 

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