Back in March, Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars announced the formation of their band, Silk Sonic. The duo released their first massively successful single, “Leave the Door Open,” on March 5, and through the laggard release of two more songs, they teased their debut album throughout the entirety of 2021.
Finally, on November 12, “An Evening with Silk Sonic” was released. With all the buildup and hype around this album, my expectations were sky-high, and I think it’s safe to say that those expectations were met.
Mars and .Paak are a match made in heaven. Most of the album is .Paak on the verses and Mars on the choruses and hooks, both excelling and adding something special to the music.
The throwback 70s soul feel of the album is right up .Paak’s alley; it’s very similar to the music he usually makes on his own.
While .Paak is great on the album, I think Mars really shines. His range is absolutely incredible, casually belting beautiful high notes on songs like “Put on a Smile.” His silky (pun intended) vocals fit perfectly on the album.
This album strikes a brilliant balance between slower jams and high-energy bops. This balance is further strengthened by the two artists’ different styles of singing. “Leave the Door Open,” “After Last Night” and “Put on a Smile” are all romantic ballads that successfully display Mars’ tenor voice.
On the other hand, “Fly as Me,” “777” and “Skate” are super fun, high-energy songs that work well with .Paak’s unique, raspy funk-inspired rapping.
Although I loved all the songs on the album, part of me is slightly underwhelmed. This doesn’t come from the music itself, but rather the way the songs were released. Out of the nine songs on the album, four had been previously released: “Silk Sonic Intro,” “Leave the Door Open,” “Skate” and “Smoking Out the Window.” The album would have been more satisfying if almost half of the songs were not released previously.
I also wish the album was longer. With only nine songs at a total runtime of 31 minutes, it goes by pretty fast. Silk Sonic has a great feel and sound, and I don’t think a half hour is enough time to live in that feeling and get a true appreciation for the music.
Mars and .Paak have developed something special with Silk Sonic. Their voices and their styles of music blend well together to bring listeners back to 70s soul music. While I wish the album was a bit longer, I’m still really happy with the album we got.
I hope to see Mars and .Paak work more together in the future; I’d love to spend another evening with Silk Sonic.
FAVORITES: PUT ON A SMILE, 777, BLAST OFF
LEAST FAVORITES: NONE
