After 3 years of absence following his fairly successful
second effort, Unorthodox Jukebox, I could tell Bruno Mars was cooking up
something magical. Last year, he showed up out of nowhere with Uptown Funk with
Mark Ronson which became the biggest hit of the year, and it seemed that he was
definitely going to the right direction and I was curious what he is going to
come up with next. It got me appetized with his first single of his latest
album 24K Magic, starting off with this vocoder melody and exploding with this beat
that reminds me of 90s hip-hop. His persona have suddenly changed talking about
his comeback and “bad bitches and your ugly ass friends”, promising us a cheeky
but fun album which definitely got me excited.
Although there are only nine short tracks in the album, it
is packed with so much exuberance that every track can be a single. Bruno shows
his naughty side in the track Chunky, talking about stealing someone’s
girlfriend, but it has a funky bassline that sticks in your head, while some
90s R&B influences are visible in the track, with female backup singers
singing “I wanna get down” and synthesisers that is reminiscent to 90s pop.
Perm brings out that James Brown vibe with Bruno’s vocal range and attitude
throughout the track; it’s upbeat and quite sassy. That’s What I Like has so
many things going for it as Bruno sings about treating a girl the way he likes
it and has that vibe similar to Ginuwine’s Pony with its dirty bass synthesiser
and beat. Finesse on the other hand is too analogous to Bell Biv Devoe’s
Poison, with the snare beat at the start, the little rap “we got it goin’ on”,
the sirens in the background and its overall upbeat sound; you can clearly tell
Bruno has been listening to some 80s and 90s R&B a lot. Although, it has
one of the best lines in the album “I am dripping in finesse”.
It does have some slow jams that bring out the best of his
songwriting and vocal range. Although in Versace on the Floor, he sings about having
sex with a girl with style, it sounds like 80s pop ballad with Whitney
Houston-style synthesisers and muted guitar riffs. Straight Up and Down starts
off with harmonizing melody that is a classic style of Bruno’s before going to
a typical R&B slow beat. At this point through the album, it does seem
repetitive with his song-writing, talking about what he does with different
girls, but he brings out a fresh sound that still feels nostalgic. Calling All My
Lovelies feels a little mischievous with his tongue in cheek lyrics about so
many girls on her phone, and has a little interlude of Halle Berry’s voicemail
which Bruno playfully tells us the sort of girls he has on her phone. But the
last track Too Good to Say Goodbye is the definitive Bruno Mars track in the
album. The nostalgic theme in this track seems more hidden and focuses more on
the piano and his vocals, singing about winning a girl back and not wanting to
lose her and we hear him more passionate than the rest of the tracks which is a
great closer of the album.
It is interesting how Bruno approached this album, bringing
back that funky sound that dates back in the 80s and 90s, the music he used to
listen to as a kid. It’s lively and people have fun listening to this music which
was the whole point of this album. Bruno is going to the same path as Michael
Jackson with Bad; he’s becoming more playful and mischievous. Bruno stated
himself that this is the best album he’s made, and I can certainly agree.
Check out: The entire album
9/10
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