Tag: Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars – “The Romantic” review

Bruno Mars is a 40 year old singer/songwriter, producer & dancer from Honolulu, Hawaii breaking out in the late 2000s as 1/3 of The Smeezingtons. He would eventually make his solo debut in the fall of 2010 with Doo-Wops & Hooligans under Elektra Records & Atlantic Records, moving over to solely the latter for the sophomore effort Unorthodox Jukebox. Both of which contain some of his biggest hits like “Just the Way You Are” & “Locked Out of Heaven”, but didn’t floor me as much as 24K Magic for it’s nostalgic revival of the classic 1990s R&B sound including new jack swing. A decade later, the other half of Silk Sonic’s making a comeback with his 4th album.

“Risk It All” begins with this Latin soul-tinged intro singing about him being willing to do anything for the woman of his life whereas “Cha Cha Cha” turns up the Latin influences with an interpolation of “Slow Motion” by Juvenile featuring the late Soulja Slim during the hook. “I Just Might” blends pop soul, dance-pop, disco, boogie & funk singing about the possibility of making this woman his just before he brags about how “God Was Showing Off” when he was making the female who has his eyes.

Moving on from there, “Why You Wanna Fight?” asks his partner for the reason she’s trying to start shit when they could be making love leading into “On My Soul” promising her that he’ll cherish her in ways her exes haven’t. “Something Serious” goes for a funkier vibe singing about always having the back of this chick who should be his boo-thang & after “Nothing Left” describes his feelings towards a female who doesn’t love him the same way he does her, the final song “Dance with Me” made for a suiting closer yearning to hit the dance floor with his partner 1 last time until parting ways.

Compared to the other LPs we’ve gotten from Bruno Mars for the past 16 years, The Romantic is a worthy follow-up to 24K Magic & lands right behind Unorthodox Jukebox at #3 when it comes to ranking his discography although it’s average as a whole. The production is more predominantly pop soul oriented than the last time we heard him in the mid-2010s bringing some Latin soul, smooth soul, funk, Chicago soul & Philly soul undertones for a half hour dedicated to love & dancing.

Score: 3/5

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Silk Sonic – “An Evening with Silk Sonic” review

Silk Sonic is a newly formed superduo consisting of Anderson .Paak & Bruno Mars. The latter coming up in 2010 by dominating the pop charts & the other beginning to turn heads by being featured all over his mentor Dr. Dre’ final album to date Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre about 5 years later. Their paths first crossed with one another during the European leg of the 24K Magic World Tour where .Paak opened up for Bruno but after announcing the superduo’s full-length debut back in February to high anticipation, they’re finally unleashing it to the world.

After the funky intro, the first song “Leave the Door Open” kicks off the album with a smooth soul banger telling their lovers they’re there for them whereas “Fly as Me” takes a funkier route & the lyrics basically speak for itself. “After Last Night” is a slow jam professing their love for the women they slept with the previous evening just before “Smokin’ Out the Window” works in some Philly soul undertones talking about a woman who belongs to everyone getting into fights with her man like it’s the Endeavor Group Holdings-owned UFC.

Meanwhile on “Put on a Smile”, we have .Paak & Bruno coming together over some strings encouraging listeners to look forward to the better days while the song “777” serves as a groovy pimp anthem. The penultimate track “Skate” is a straight up disco tune flirting with the hottest bitches in the room & finally, “Blast Off” finishes the album off on a glossier note talking about flying to the stars.

Man I knew Silk Sonic was gonna deliver on this album, but they went even harder than I expected them to because An Evening with Silk Sonic is unquestionably the best R&B album that I’ve heard all year. They have a uniquely natural chemistry & it’s amazing how they resurrected the sounds of the 70’s soul down to Bootsy Collins “hosting” it.

Score: 4.5/5