An Evening With The Newly Formed Duo: Silk Sonic Review

Powerhouse MC Bruno Mars and an incredibly underrated talent in Anderson Paak formed a musical group called Silk Sonic in early 2021. This excited fans for both artists as this is a dream combination.

Silk Sonic's debut effort: An Evening With Silk Sonic is a refreshing take on vintage R&B. With the music industry becoming increasingly redundant, SIlk Sonic chose to steer away from the normalities and created something incredibly special.

The Duo's first effort came in early March of this year when they released the first single entitled: Leave The Door Open. This track ended up being the lead single for the album and rightfully so, as it placed number 1 on the Billboard hot 100 for 14 consecutive weeks. It was obvious from the start that Mars and Paak had struck gold. However, would they be able to repeat that success for a full-length project?

Pictured left is Anderson Paak along with Bruno Mars on the right

The wait was quite long. An Evening With Silk Sonic did not release until early November. With only 9 tracks in total, listeners were skeptical. Most listeners are used to the idea of albums that are at least twenty tracks in modern music. I would argue that this was a smart move on Silk Sonic's part because they always want to leave listeners wanting more.

The album was immediately a smash. Multiple tracks topped the Billboard charts and this re-solidified Mars as a musical powerhouse along with introducing many listeners to Paak. The combination just flows so smoothly. Each track is full of life, vibrance, and the usage of musical instruments that are just not seen as much anymore. Unique guitar riffs, drum solos, trumpets, tambourines, etc. It's a musical nerds paradise.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the project was its ability to get younger listeners interested in this genre of music. I mentioned earlier how modern music sounds incredibly redundant and several young listeners are infatuated with hip-hop which is unironically the most repetitive genre of music out there. Mars and Paak found a way to incorporate smooth rhymes that sounded similar to modern rap while utilizing the style of early 80's funk. It is a combination that can't help but satisfy.

Looking ahead, I would love to Silk Sonic work together again. I believe this is not just a fluke and with the increasing popularity as this album ages, there should be every reason to create another project. My only concern is that both of these artists may not find that spark again when working with each other as many groups before them lose it after their first effort.

Let's just hope I'm wrong on this one.