‘Atavism’ is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a “reversion to a past style, manner, outlook, approach, or activity”- Childish Gambino reverts to music styles and themes of his past in his album ‘Atavista’ (owing its namesake to ‘Atavism’) that was released on May 12, 2024.
When ‘Atavista’ was first released to the public, the album had already planted its roots in Gambino listeners when a demo version was officially released to streaming sites 4 years earlier on March 22, 2020. The album had been published under the title ‘3.15.20’, containing tracks that had not yet been mixed to finality, before being taken down on March 8 of this year.
The new album consists of 11 tracks, each owing their sound to musical remnants and themes of the past.
The opening track, Atavista, while sharing the name of the album, nods to the New Wave and Synth-Pop musical movements of the 1980s. Similar to the title track, ‘To Be Hunted’ acknowledges the heavy instrumental sound and strong rhythms created and popularized by the synthesizer in the 80s.
One of the most popular tracks on the album is ‘Algorhthym’ (a deliberate misspelling of the word ‘algorithm’) which relates to the album’s primary theme through its literary references to the origins of humankind. Lyrics include “Humans gotta survive, we know we gon’ die” and “Keep on moving, you might survive… Pressure is to evolve”- notions to a fight or flight sense that all humans share; representing the reversion to natural human responses and reactions.
While known for his creativity and diverse discography, at 40 years old Gambino uses ‘Atavista’ to revert to his musical roots (His growing up around diverse surroundings in his hometown of Atlanta, his high tempo rapping in his 2011 ‘Camp’ album, and his lyrical references of modern day civil and political issues in his 2018 single ‘This Is America’).
In ‘Atavista’, songs like ‘Psilocybae (Millennial Love)’ (once again, a genius play on words combining ‘Psilocybin’-a psychodelic drug or “magic mushrooms”- and ‘bae’- a term of endearment) favor sounds Gambino has used previously in his decades-long discography. ‘Human Sacrifice’– also reuses a similar sound Gambino curated in his earlier albums.
‘Psilocybae (Millennial Love)’ was a song that garnered heavy attention and praise during the publication of its unfinished form in 3.15.20, and has been compared to Gambino’s 2016 “Awaken, My Love!” (the quotations being a stylistic choice) album with its melodic style of rapping and its deep reverb.
‘Human Sacrifice’, on the other hand, has periods of melodic and mid-tempo tones that notion to both the 2018 release ‘Summertime Magic’ and the 2014 release ‘Kauai’. Unfortunately for fans, ‘Human Sacrifice’ was surprisingly missing from ‘3.15.20’ after being teased by Gambino in various performances and concerts since 2016. It was finally formally released in ‘Atavista’ this past week.
Some other honorable mentions from the album include the low-tempo ‘Time’ (including an enticing feature from Ariana Grande) and ‘Little Foot Big Foot’ (whose video and jingle–like sound hints at the racially aggressive minstrel shows of the early 1900s).
The entire album feels like a melodic rollercoaster intended for long-time fans who will be able to both understand the references to past music styles and to Gambino’s ever-changing sound. Once again, Gambino proves to fans why he is one artist to look forward to when it comes to experimenting with multiple sounds- and doing it well.
