Album Review- Evening with Silk Sonic
Although Silk Sonic has only been making music as a group for a year, they have gotten a lot of notoriety, and their debut album was 2021’s album of the year. Much of their success can be attributed to Bruno Mars, who had a successful career before making the group with his friend Anderson Paak. The album “Evening with Silk Sonic” has a 70’s groovy vibe to it, and the way the songs are arranged tell an interesting story.
Silk Sonic Intro gives you a sneak peek into the retro and groovy nature of what the album is going to be about.
Leave the Door Open was the duo's debut song and is a smooth, head-bobbing song about leaving the door open just in case you want to come in the room for some fun late-night activities. I think that starting with this song was a safe choice because people will be able to familiarize themselves with the album.
Fly as Me is a cool song in which they really lead into the grove and lean into more of the funk of the 70s. This is great strutting down the street kind of song. As the name suggests, this song is about wanting to be with someone on the same level as you. Since this is the third song and the first new song in the album, I think it’s a great lead into the rest of the new songs associated with the album.
After Last Night is one of the most extravagant songs of the album. The tempo of the song correlates to the sexual connotations of the song. This song also has the most collaborators on the album, Thundercat and Bootsy Collins. My favorite part of the song is near the end before the chorus and when it leads into the changed chorus at the end. Perfection. You can really hear the passion in the end, and I think this is overall a great song.
Smoke out the Window was another song that debuted before the release of the whole album. The irony of this song comes right after the song “After Last Night” because it’s all about regretting sleeping with someone. Although all of these songs are catchy, I would have to say that this one is one of the catchiest of the whole album.
Put on a Smile is one of the more mellow songs of the album. This song doubles down on the story of the album. Although it’s one of the sadder songs, that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad song. The performance Bruno puts on in the ladder part of the song really makes you think he lost someone and is just trying to push through the pain.
777 goes back to the upbeat nature of the album while giving us a new beat and vibe to the album. With the new beat change, it also means that it goes back to the confident guy energy that the album has. I feel like this song belongs in the Bruno Mars album 24 Karat.
Skate truly goes back to the groovy happy energy that the album started with. This song, as the title suggests, is a perfect skate song. It goes back to the 70s tone it started out at the beginning of the album, and the song is all about (you guessed it) skating! I would say it’s one of the happiest and the most upbeat song on the album.
Love Train has a sensual song format to the likes of “After Last Night,” but not with the same complexity as that song. It’s a great song that slows down the tone of the album, especially after the fun and upbeat song that “Skate” was.
Blast Off, just like Love Train, is a slow send-off to the album's end. I like how they used the name and space connotations at the end of the album. Closing like this makes it feel like the story of the album has been completed.