Acoustic Avenue: An Evening with Silk Sonic
In this weekly column, senior Emily Thomas provides her take on a new albums, concerts, and artists.
January 7, 2022
New year, new music, except this year we are kicking off with the return of Bruno Mars. The Silk Sonic duo Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak dropped the group’s debut album An Evening with Silk Sonic that was long-awaited by fans including myself, and it did not disappoint.
This album was everything I expected it to be; funk-pop, feel-good vibes, Bruno Mars’ beautiful voice, and Anderson Paak’s fantastic production skills. I could not have been happier with how this came out. After the first single came out, “Leave The Door Open,” the hype was real. Not only because the song itself was amazing, but because I didn’t realize how much the world needed a Paak and Mars collaboration.
Silk Sonic is not only the name of the album but of the two singers’ group. When I first found out that these two were going to drop a collaborative album together, I freaked out. As a huge fan of both artists, I couldn’t think of a better duo to create one of the best and cleanest albums of 2021.
My favorites from this album are “Put On a Smile,” “Smokin Out The Window,” and “After Last Night” featuring Thundercat and Bootsy Collins. I sound like a broken record but Mars’ return to music was like the bucket of serotonin the world needed. His voice is special, one of a kind. All of these songs have a sense of humor and happiness that will not fail to lift your mood. Nothing is funnier than “Smokin Out The Window,” however, given that it was turned into a huge meme that demonstrated the contrast in Mars’ attitude compared to his hit song “Grenade” from 2010.
There is nothing that you could criticize this album for, other than being painfully short. I don’t like how short it is because I want to experience it forever, but unfortunately, it has a run time of only thirty-one minutes and nineteen seconds.
Though the praise for Bruno’s contribution to this album is the main focus of this review, we can’t leave out Anderson .Paak. His vocals and production are something to marvel at. They have the power to relax you and send you into a blissful and stress-relieving dream.
Ultimately, this album is just fantastic and incredibly well done. It demands respect from the music industry for its creativity and beauty in its visuals and tracks. I would recommend this to literally anyone who likes music.
