An Evening With Silk Sonic is the debut record of the newly formed R&B, funk, soul duo Silk Sonic. The duo consists of hitmaking legend, Bruno Mars, and Californian singer/rapper Anderson.Paak. The album is a concise 10 tracks with just over 36 minutes of run time. 

Production: Sonically this record is very cohesive. All the tracks have an R&B, funk, and soul influence. Bruno Mars’s last record 24K Magic dove into similar sounds, however, An Evening With Silk Sonic, has a much more traditional and authentic sound. The incorporation of live instruments and incredible vocals makes the album feel like a concert experience. 

Writing: The lyrics on this album go from playful and cheeky to songs like “777”, a song that depicts a typical Vegas gambling night. There are many quotable lines on it like “Moonwalk to the money like I’m Mike Jack”. However, the record gets deep and emotional on “Put on a Smile”. The song is about how they cannot put on a smile anymore because their ex-lover was the only thing worth smiling for. The writing is reminiscent of Anderson. Paak’s album Ventura and also Mars’s debut Doo-wops and Hooligans. 

Reception: The lead single for this record “Leave the Door Open” went #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another track “Smoking Out the Window” hit #5, and five other tracks debuted in the top 100.  The overall record reached #2 on Billboard 200 which is for albums. An Evening with Silk Sonic was met with critical acclaim and the song “Leave the Door Open” won four out of four Grammy nominations including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

 Overall An Evening with Silk Sonic is a great listen and I highly recommend it. Especially to fans of Earth, Wind, and Fire, Bootsy Collins, Thundercat, and Brent Faiyaz.