In today’s mainstream pop landscape there’s hard to find something fully original and yet, simultaneously there’s people at the vanguard of the genre defying its well established standard. However, once in a while you encounter a piece of music that’s neither future-leaning, or experimental but also neither boring or monotonous, which is the case for many albums that tend to exaggerate their retro sounds. An Evening With Silk Sonic is a record that hits quite a sweet spot in this regard.

Anderson. Paak is a drummer and colorful rapper with 4 albums to his name that succintly syntesize R&B, hip-hop and neo-soul with groove to spare. As Silk Sonic he teams-up with Bruno Mars, a talented Grammy-decorated singer and songwriter that is notably more popular than Paak, and has a particular softer edge in his music. Nevertheless both are undoubtedly part of the same musical spectrum and this collaboration not only makes sense, it also turned out to be a great idea. They both inhabit and revitalize the soul revival and An Evening With Silk Sonic is quite good.

There’s plenty to highlight in the album, but let’s start by focusing on its core: the collaboration. The duo have an outstanding chemistry, their voices, with similar timbres and tones, are put to great use in different song sections for them to not only complement each other but also counter the other one when it comes to the style itself of their delivery. This succesfully makes many songs here feel fun and with great heart. Paak is piercing, funny, and when he raps here and there his bars are on point. Mars on the other hand, is as melodic as he typically is, pushing his voice to new registers with very good results and, again, sounding both in sync with Paak and also giving an exciting spin to the whole ordeal.

The music, as expected, is groovy. Mixing funk, soul and R&B with massive choruses and interesting tunes, An Evening With Silk Sonic has an immediacy that makes you feel it flow smoothly through your ears, like silk, if I may. The production is a key player in this regard. The mix in every track gives each instrument its room to breathe both for the benefit of the song and to make the two vocalists stand out. And the goddamn pristine sound that comes out of every note makes this album inviting. The tracks envelop you beat after beat, never letting you go for its short duration of 31 minutes.

Then, there’s the songs. Practically all of them are propulsed by the two elements described above, and their almost impeccable arrangements. Lead single ‘Leave The Door Open’ is a funky number with a rhythm change in its melodic chorus that gives power to the track, anchored by Mars passionate vocals, sounding, to this writer, as engaging as his best solo songs. Second single ‘Skate’ is one of the best songs of the album, with its entertaining romaticism and soul-drenched beats. The lyrics are pop extravaganza of wanting to be with the girl that you like, being ‘fooled’ after breaking up and unrequited love; all these subjects are delivered with passion throughout the album, withot breaking new ground, not that it needs it. I feel personally attracted to ‘Fly As Me’ a number that has more Paak’s personality embedded in it, and the one where he raps the most, helping the album move forward.

An Evening with Silk Sonic does tends to be a little too revivalist, with a classic-sound sheen to it that feels sometimes more like a straight-up homage than truly sounding original. Additionally, some songs, overstay their welcome or struggle to find the pace the more engaging tracks have. This is not often however, because the sheer execution and vivid rhythms very much brighten up the best moments. Who knows what Silk Sonic will do in the future, but it is important to note that An Evening does make a solid case for the collaboration. It feels more a highlight in Bruno Mars’ discography than Anderson .Paak’s, but it is a strong addition to the soul revival, an album with heart and groove to spare that is a whole lot of fun to listen to.