Chronicles of a Diamond by Black Pumas

It’s a rare phenomenon when a sophomore album is better than a debut. Debut albums often have years of creativity built into them – the band members often having brought the songs along with them through the high school / college years, having noodled on them for ages before finally putting them to tape. Then the band is asked to produce a 2nd record in a fraction of that time, hence “the sophomore slump.”

Not so with Black Pumas’ 2nd album, Chronicles of a Diamond. The Pumas are a duo out of Austin, Texas. Their self-titled debut album from 2019 did hit my radar at the time, but was a bit too over-produced for my liking. It did not make the Top 31 that year. I think I was the only one to not connect with the album, as they received numerous nominations from the Grammys: Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year.

Fast-forward four years, and singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada have produced an even better follow-up. A lot of bands would have crumbled at the pressure of producing something that could match, let alone exceed their critically-acclaimed debut. But Chronicles does just that.

Black Pumas are put into the psychedelic soul genre, pioneered by the likes to Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone. Hard-hitting drums and keyboards back up the fuzzed out sounds of Quesada’s guitar and Burton’s vocals. Burton’s voice is placed forward of the band, his lyrics easily heard over the music. Their sound reminds me of the Dirtbombs, or Algiers (#18 in 2017), and even a little of Benjamin Clementine, but with more fuzz (you know Clementine – his song “Nemesis” is the theme song for AppleTV+’s The Morning Show). A neither Clementine nor Burton would be anywhere without Seal having led the way with his gorgeous voice 30 years ago.

Watch the video above, for their great lead single “More Than a Love Song.” You can also see videos for “Mrs. Postman,” “Angel,” and “Ice Cream (Pay Phone).” Even better, just check out Chronicles of a Diamond – it’s one hell of an album.

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3.15.20 by Childish Gambino

Time for another digression. “This is America,” a song that came out nearly two years ago (!), is a perfect song. It’s only gotten more perfect as Trump’s presidency has steamrolled over our democracy while our collective blinders to the massive presence of white supremacy have been slowly and then suddenly removed. In the song, Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, brilliantly raps, dances, and displays in the video the symbolism of a hypocritical world that squeezes every last drop of joy and attitude out of black culture for its own selfish amusement while simultaneously pressing its collective knee onto their metaphorical and literal necks.

When the horrific facts surrounding the devastating and extremely avoidable deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd at the hands of the police surfaced, in what was already shaping up to be an insanely difficult year, the not-really-melting pot of America boiled over. Protests and vigils and marches began happening at regular intervals (monthly, weekly, and sometimes daily depending on where you lived in the country, and even outside of it) and still continue today, albeit on a much smaller scale. The heat of the summer combined with an inability to leave the house due to Covid-19 lockdowns (as well as smoke from months-long west coast wildfires) blended into a literal fever pitch of anger. All the while, “This is America” played in the background in my head.

Things continue to escalate, as our racist president has made it painfully clear that the bigots and nationalists and white supremacists have his full, undivided support. They have been empowered, and they’re coming out of hiding in droves. I’m ashamed at my own surprise at the truth, that this truly is America. This is who we are.

These painful acts that happen again and again with greater and greater frequency, and each day more horrifying than the last — I once was blind, but now I see. This is America. 57% of the white voting population did so for Trump in 2016. Despite four years of constant disgust and disgrace, and despite 20+ million more voters being added to the rosters, that same 57% of whites voted for Trump in 2020. The vast majority of white voters — 73% more than voted for Biden — voted for Trump. This is America. Centuries of oppression and segregation and suffering. This is America.

And Mr. Glover captures it all in the space of 4 minute song.

This truth weighs on my conscience, and I strive to raise my children in a way that opens their eyes to it. I don’t pretend to have the power or knowledge to fix any of it. But I do know I won’t be letting that fucking genie get back in the bottle.

/digression

“This is America” doesn’t appear on 3.15.20, but the song has never appeared on any album. Despite it being the song that has continually bounced around my head throughout 2020, I feature it here as 3.15.20 is Glover’s first album to come out since the release of “This is America.” Plus I needed another opportunity to watch the video.

3.15.20 is Glover’s fourth Childish Gambino album, and only the first to appear on the Bacon Top 31. I suppose I, too, in a way have been coming out from hiding these past four years. The album doesn’t hook you so much as seep into your skin upon multiple listenings. In his review for allmusic.com, Tim Sendra summed the album up well, saying it is:

“a challenging, hooky, mysterious, and odd record that feels like it was built out of pieces left over from a collision between OutKast, David Bowie, Sly & the Family Stone, and Prince. Add in bits borrowed from Flaming Lips, Tyler, The Creator, and Lee Perry, and it’s a mad scientist’s take on modern pop with Glover at the middle alternately crooning with honey-dipped sweetness, rapping menacingly, crying out in pain, and telling tales”

The call-backs to OutKast and Prince are glaring, but it’s the more subtle nudges toward Bowie and Sly that really get you. This is a soundscape more than a cohesive album. “42.26” (most of the songs on the album are titled by the time stamp they exist on the album), previously released on the 2018 Summer Pack EP titled “Feels Like Summer,” is the most radio-friendly song, and well worth the price of admission.

Glover is supremely talented. He has the potential to join the vaunted EGOT crowd. (To date, 16 people have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award. Currently, Glover has only won grammys and emmys, but it wouldn’t be a stretch for him to earn the final two awards needed to complete the set.) He’s a performer, fully aware of his stardom and exploitation of the world around him for his own personal gain. But we’re all better off with him in the world, opening our eyes and reflecting back to us what I and so many other white people have ignored for far too long.

Rewatch the video above, often. Buy 3.15.20. And then use your power (and privilege) to make constant, significant, and lasting change.

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1. Saint Cloud by Waxahatchee
2. Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple
3. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers
4. folklore + evermore by Taylor Swift
5. Untitled (Black Is) + Untitled (Rise) by Sault
6. RTJ4 by Run The Jewels
7. Shore by Fleet Foxes
8. Serpentine Prison by Matt Berninger
9. The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens
10. Making a Door Less Open by Car Seat Headrest
11. Dreamland by Glass Animals
12. A Hero’s Death by Fontaines D.C.
13. Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez by Gorillaz
14. Mordechai + Texas Sun EP by Khruangbin
15. Introduction, Presence by Nation of Language
16. Free Love by Sylvan Esso
17. Miss Anthropocene by Grimes
18. 3.15.20 by Childish Gambino
19. Women In Music Pt. III by HAIM
20. The Third Mind by The Third Mind
21. Superstar by Caroline Rose
22. Impossible Weight by Deep Sea Diver
23. We Will Always Love You by The Avalanches
24. Ultra Mono by IDLES
25. Visions of Bodies Being Burned by clipping.
26. Thin Mind by Wolf Parade
27. The Loves of Your Life by Hamilton Leithauser
28. Palo Alto (Live) by Thelonious Monk
29. color theory by Soccer Mommy
30. Fall to Pieces by Tricky
31. Quarantine Casanova by Chromeo

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#19 on the 2023 Bacon Top 31 — Black Pumas

#18 on the 2020 Bacon Top 31 — Childish Gambino