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Just over a week after Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak dropped “Leave The Door Open,” the pair appeared at the 63rd Grammy Awards, and their single had already climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart. The aesthetic surrounding the subsequent album “An Evening with Silk Sonic” — a 1970s homage through baggy red suits, large heart-shaped sunglasses, gold colored jewelry and synchronized dance moves — was something they first showcased to the world at the event while performing the song.

Eight months later, Silk Sonic — the name of .Paak and Mars’ R&B/funk group — finally dropped the album “An Evening with Silk Sonic.” The duo does not try to achieve new musical heights with the project. Instead, .Paak humbly said in an interview with Rolling Stone, they want to “make women feel good and make people dance, and that’s it” — which it does perfectly.

The entire project is hosted by Bootsy Collins, a member of James Brown’s band The Pacemakers and the bassist for Parliament-Funkadelic. Collins and the rest of his era’s aesthetic is present throughout all nine songs. Mars even tries an impression of Brown’s shrill shriek on the third track, “Fly as Me.” The album itself starts like Brown’s 1973 track “The Boss,” using a four-count to introduce the harmony.

The chemistry between Mars and .Paak is most notable on “After Last Night,” where the duo demonstrate a one-two vocal punch that go together like peanut butter and jelly. As the more experienced singer, Mars takes the higher notes on each harmony, but .Paak holds his own ground, providing the base for Mars to fluctuate on. Silk Sonic brings in the help of a modern day Collins: bassist Thundercat.

The production itself on “After Last Night” is also different from the rest of the album and the funk genre in general, as it features an electric guitar solo paired with horns. The next track, “Smokin Out the Window,” also starts with an orchestral intro before .Paak flaunts his drum skills, which he’s done in the past when he collaborated with The Free Nationals.

The rest of the album follows the same recipe: let Mars demonstrate why he’s one of the best vocalists alive, add a little spice with the earthier sound of .Paak, and underlay the whole thing with drum- and guitar-heavy production. “Blast Off” offers a cherry on top to Silk Sonic’s introduction with 80 seconds of an orchestra paired with one last harmony, a sort of cool down from the rest of the project.

Best track: “Leave The Door Open”

Mars and .Paak are a dynamic duo, at the start of their journey to bring an old-fashioned sound to music. Their NFL comparison is probably Steve Young and Jerry Rice on the San Francisco 49ers in the 1990s. Mars is the Rice of the duo — he already went to the top of mountain multiple times with Joe Montana as his quarterback — and .Paak is Young — after backing up Montana, Young finally got into the spotlight with a Super Bowl MVP season in 1995.

But “Leave The Door Open” is like if Young and Rice had won the Super Bowl when Young took over for Montana in 1991. The first song from any artist or group isn’t expected to be one of the best songs of the year, but “Leave The Door Open” already has four Grammy nominations and almost 650 million streams on Spotify.

.Paak takes the mic first on the track, showcasing a vocal range that he had kept relatively hidden up to this point, before Mars jumps onto the chorus taking off right where he left off with his hit record “24K Magic” from 2016. The entire song has touches of .Paak’s love for drum-heavy beats, setting the pace for Mars to hop on and add harmonies to the production. Simply put, this song is worthy of its popularity.

Nabeeha Anwar | Illustration Editor

One Skip: “777”

It’s hard to pick a song to skip on this album, as every song fits under the same vibe with the same slow start before a hard-hitting chorus emphasizing the talent of .Paak and Mars. But the theme of this song lyrically, which is completely surrounded around Las Vegas and gambling, doesn’t fit with the rest of the album.

Silk Sonic was able to refrain from making this album sound like any other rap album up to this point, not featuring lyrics flexing their ability to get women or what they can get with how much money they have. But right at the beginning .Paak says, “Big booty hoes meet me in the penthouse / Bar full of liquor, cash for the strippers.”

If this album is meant to bring back funk memories, these types of lyrics synonyms with music today shouldn’t be on the project. It’s unnecessary when .Paak and Mars have enough ability to come up with more nuanced lyrics to pair with the drums and guitar.

Hardest Bars: “Put on a Smile”

Songwriting isn’t the focus of this album. All good funk projects place more emphasis on using vocal inflections to make the production itself pop out more. But this track is one where Silk Sonic slows down the pace of the album again with a romantic love song.

All the verses are executed by .Paak, who’s shown his writing ability through the variety of rap-heavy albums he’s had in his solo career.

The lyrics are simple: “If I could turn back the hands on my Rollie, you know I would / I would’ve spent all my time makin’ sure that my baby good.”

With this reference to something that only a rapper can afford, .Paak continues in the chorus with Mars singing, “Oh, now I try to be the life of the party / All night, buying shots for everybody, But it’s all just an act ’cause I can’t have you back.”

The song leaves the listener introspecting on their own experiences with love before the hard transition into “777.”

Final thoughts:

The half-hour album is a love letter to Mars and .Paak’s favorite funk artists like Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, highlighting the genre created by Black communities in the mid-1960s. Bringing this style back in the spotlight is something that felt personal to the duo, and that touch is prevalent.

This formula is perfect for one album, but it’s going to be interesting to see how the group evolves in its later projects. Instead of trying to please their inspirations by mostly using the skills that helped the funk-era generation create a unique sound, Mars and .Paak should merge it together with the other styles — like they did minutely at certain points in the album — that they’ve mastered in their solo careers.

Published on December 1, 2021 at 11:58 pm