An Evening with Silk Sonic—colloquially just “Silk Sonic”—is a mark of perfection. In ten songs lasting just over 35 minutes, the listener takes a journey in funk, soul, and smooth R&B delicately crafted by the wildly successful music legends Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. Back in 2017, these two joked about creating a vintage-esque album that brought back the musical styles of the 1960s and 70s and just four years later, this highly anticipated gem was released to the world. 

Instead of starting at track 1, let’s skip the intro for now and dive into the song that generated most of the hype around this album: “Leave the Door Open.” Released as a teaser single in March, this song received acclaim, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100. And upon giving it a listen, we clearly see why. The masterful drumming by .Paak, the jazzy piano, and the dreamy vocalizations make it an incredibly catchy song. It can be classified as a part of the Quiet Storm genre, a style of music that highlights personal and sensual lyrics. For instance, aided by Mars’ smooth interjections, .Paak describes how “We should be dancing, romancing / In the east wing and the west wing / Of this mansion, what’s happening.” These kinds of lyrics remind me of Bill Withers, a legendary Quiet Storm artist, who sang “And darling when the morning comes / And I see the morning sun / I wanna be the one with you” in his incredibly popular song “Just the Two of Us.” The piano, the vocal range, and the supporting singer’s lines are all very similar as well as the sultry nature of the lyrics. It is also one of the slower songs on the album. Though its climax is a dramatic performance of Mars’ capabilities, on the whole, it is a mellow and soulful song. As soon as we hear the soft piano die out, we are pushed into track 2 with a count off from .Paak, immersing us in a fast paced funky rhythm.

If there is one word to epitomize Silk Sonic, it would be “dapper.” And track 2, “Fly As Me” is exactly that. It’s fast, it has a lively bass line, and boldly asks if “you have ever been with a player? Take you downtown where they treat you like the mayor.” Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak both have reputations of being incredibly confident and very well dressed. In essence, they radiate “coolness” and this song is the purest expression of that. That being said, it is simply ridiculous. Silk Sonic does a fantastic job in pushing the limits of “coolness” before it becomes cringey, and humor is a major reason why. For instance, in the immensely popular track 5, .Paak sings “Not to be dramatic, but I wanna die” after his love left him “Smoking Out The Window,” the title of the song. These instances of humor make it easier for the listener to sing along and let their guard down. 

It’s important to understand what kind of work Silk Sonic tries to achieve. Unlike Swimming by Mac Miller or good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar which rely heavily on storytelling, this album is simply more to showcase the incredible skills of the superduo and create fun, catchy music. There is a narrative, but it is not the highlight of the album and does not need to be analyzed to enjoy. This does not make it lesser as a piece of art, but just different. In fact, it is probably easier to appreciate as it’s hard to resist singing along and emulating Bruno Mars’s fantastic falsettos. Just like Swimming, there are no skips. So please, take the time and spend An Evening With Silk Sonic.