Donald Glover is one step closer to unifying with his musical alter ego Childish Gambino with the release of “Lithonia,” the first single from the soundtrack of Glover’s upcoming post-apocalypse comedy, Bando Stone & The New World.
After the song’s existence was inadvertently revealed by an overly enthusiastic fan, Gambino officially released it with no further hiccups. The track opens with a somber organ, suggesting something in the vein of his moodier psych-funk tracks from Awaken, My Love! — but then, it becomes a full-on, operatic rock anthem. It looks like Glover’s next musical evolution may end up being closer to Queen than Parliament. No, I’m not retracting that incredible wordplay.
Bando Stone & The New World appears from its trailer to be a bit of a comedic take on monster horror like A Quiet Place, with the titular singer emerging from his self-imposed isolation to discover an abandoned world that is now populated mostly by aggressive creatures. He quickly learns that he has none of the survival skills necessary to last more than a day in this new world; fortunately, he learns this from a competent survivor, who teams up with him despite his uselessness. Fans have already begun trying to decode the meaning of “Lithonia” and how it relates to this character, drawing parallels between “Bando Stone”‘s obviously fabricated moniker and the “Cody LaRae” whose name is repeated throughout the “Lithonia” chorus.
You can listen to the track above.