A soundtrack without a film, but not without value
Listening to this album without the accompanying screenplay provides a different experience than Gambino intended. For example, the groan-inducing hash-tag rap punchlines (“I got penthouses on both coasts, pH balance”) sound like empty boasts without the intended visuals in mind. As a soundtrack to a variety of scenes, however, the album still manages to explore multiple sounds while sounding mostly cohesive. Thumping, bass-heavy beats (“crawl,” “sweatpants) are balanced elsewhere by smoother, R&B-tinged tracks like “shadows” and “pink toes.” Individual tracks take some interesting directions, like when the bass-heavy rat-a-tat of “WORLDSTAR” melts into a luscious, jazzy slow jam. This eclecticism isn’t always successful, particularly on the electronic dud “earth: the oldest computer (the last night).” There’s a lot of Drake influence in Gambino’s displays of vulnerability, coupled with his balance of singing and rapping. “3005” and the intro on “zealots of stockholm” strongly evoke the Canadian rapper’s style. Despite these shortcomings, and even without the rapper’s film script, Because the Internet provides as many enjoyable and diverse tracks as there are entertaining scenes in a good (if not great) movie.
RIYL: Drake, Kanye West, Kid Cudi
Recommended: 5, 6, 8, 9, 17