The album cover for “The Romantic.”
Courtesy | Bruno Mars Instagram
Nine songs and 31 minutes of music: That’s all Bruno Mars felt was necessary for his return to the solo scene after a 10-year run of collaborations only. But with remarkable pipes and an outspoken artistic presence like his — and there’s a lot of both packed into that half-hour — it really was all he needed. Mars is back with “The Romantic,” an ode to the old-school flavor and showmanship he loves. It’s a solid and satisfying collection of easy listening material, just enough to showcase Mars’ unmistakable voice on some fresh material.
Following up a hitmaker like Mars’ 2016 powerhouse album “24K Magic,” which has Triple Platinum certification in America and seven Grammy awards to its name, takes something special — let alone trying to do it a decade later. While “The Romantic” might not be to that caliber, it doesn’t need to be.
The nine tracks on “The Romantic” are stylistically distinct from the big pop hits that tend to characterize Mars. The album adheres to the ’70s-era soul and soft rock theme set by Mars’ 2022 collaboration album with Anderson .Paak, “An Evening With Silk Sonic.” A Variety Magazine review of “The Romantic” even called the new album essentially “Silk Sonic II.”
While Mars is largely sticking with those nostalgic sounds, “The Romantic” also offers some surprising but nice genre variation. The first track, “Risk It All,” sets the precedent for variety: It’s a slow love song of a distinctly bossa nova persuasion which features mariachi horns. Though it’s fully unexpected, it does well to allow Mars’ voice to soar. The Latin influences also resurface in some of the other songs, most notably the aptly named “Cha Cha Cha” and “Something Serious.”
That said, “The Romantic” is predominantly a soul and soft rock album with complementary R&B and pop elements. Its only single, “I Just Might,” is a groovy soul-pop blend with lots of brass, the vibe of which is reinforced by the disco-esque music video released alongside it on Jan. 9. Upon the release Mars wrote on his Instagram, “It’s party time! The self- proclaimed Aura Lord is Back.” While the title might be self-granted, the retro “aura” levels Mars seems to be going for with this song are definitely being met. He also happens to be a fantastic dancer, which he makes sure to remind people of in the video.
The album is also ballad-heavy. Mars’ use of the medium is ideal for showcasing just how much he can do with his voice. Among the slower tracks are the closing number “Dance With Me” and the strong track “Nothing Left.” The latter is a display of Mars’ powerful vocals, featuring a brain-scratching electric guitar chord progression that resolves itself beautifully.
The production quality is crisp, loaded with nostalgic soul flourishes and accompaniment by both strings and brass. “God Was Showing Off” and “Why You Wanna Fight?” are strong examples, featuring backing vocals and nostalgic synthesizer effects. Along the same upbeat vein as “I Just Might” is “On My Soul,” which also does good to bring in some sharp electric guitar licks combined with a strong horn section.
All that being said, perhaps the most outstanding criticism of Mars’ comeback album is that it falls comically short in its lyricism. Take the love song “Risk It All,” for example, in which Mars passionately croons the cliche sentiments, “Say you want the moon / Watch me learn to fly / Ain’t no mountain you could point to / I wouldn’t climb.”
But though the title might seem to suggest otherwise, “The Romantic” isn’t a poetic or lyrically-driven album – and it doesn’t need to be. Overall, this album is just enough from the “self-proclaimed Aura Lord”: A short, yet powerful and groovy reminder of his unmistakable artistry.
