Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
Album: An Evening With Silk Sonic (2021)
Artist: Silk Sonic
Link:
When Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars came together to form Silk Sonic, I think my hopes entered the stratosphere with the rest of the world’s, seeing two superpowered talents join forces to put out an entire album of smooth, jazzy, sultry RnB - and yet, when the album dropped, I found myself feeling as though it was just a touch hollow.
Given the evident talent present through these sessions, I was under the impression that this effort would feel significantly more complete - but around songs that do veer quite easily into the slow jam scene, there’s a lot of music that winds up feeling a little like filler - not quite .Paak’s delightfully bouncy Southern California swing, but also not quite the crooner aesthetic of Mars - instead, somehow both and neither in a way that doesn’t fully satisfy either.
At the end of the day, the core mission is present, and those highs are deeply worn into the music, enough so that even at a baseline, it’s pretty enjoyable, and the moments where both artists come together cohesively are addictive in the best way, the best of slow jam music shining the talents of both artists, a beautiful homage to past crooners. Though it doesn’t always feel like an evening sort of album, the moments where it dips into the night are sparkling with the untold glimmer of adventures to come.
Rating: 8.1/10
Best Tracks: Love’s Train; Smokin Out The Window
Worst Tracks: Put On A Smile