Description
For a group whose members’ solo albums often seem like the work of one perfectionist mastermind, Silk Sonic are an impeccably in-sync alliance. Ever since Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak first announced their collaboration with March’s ‘Leave The Door Open’ – a sumptuous single that features the former’s best vocal performance to date – it was clear that this was a team of two retro-obsessed musicians revelling in a deep admiration for one another.
‘An Evening With Silk Sonic’ is an album that’s been made with extraordinary care, one that seeks to avoid nostalgic trappings while still aiming for timelessness. Glitzy opener ‘Silk Sonic Intro’ introduces us to the record’s guest host, legendary Parliament-Funkadelic member and funk overlord Bootsy Collins (or “Bootzilla himself” as he puts it over a blast of horns). He reappears on the majority of the songs across the record, and even imparts some hard-won emotional wisdom to Mars and .Paak at the start of candid power ballad ‘Put On A Smile’. “Take it from your Uncle Bootsy,” he whispers. “Ain’t no shame beggin’ in the rain / Tell her how you really feel.”
