Although Bruno Mars’ last album (24K Magic) was released in 2016, it looked like a recreation of 1986 Disneyland. Anderson .Paak became a rapper and singer who could divide the difference between vintage soul and contemporary hip-hop, but in 2019 Ventura it was a disappointing retreat for the retro. It’s not broken (Mars’ album took home all the Grammys, and .Paak won one too), so instead of fixing it, they’re doubling it down with a new collaboration called Silk Sonic.
Released along with an introductory track with vocals spoken by Bootsy Collins, “Leave the Door Open” transforms the soul of the 70s into a fantasy drama, without drama. You can play influences with the expertly rendered pastiche on-site if you like – you might want to see a compilation of expertly cured silent storm, like David Toop’s 1996 anthology. Sugar and Poison– but what remains is a slow carpeted carpet with leisure clothes that can suggest “strange” texts at dawn, but never breaks the character long enough to recognize the present. This is not postmodern, as The love below or same Cee-Lo Green is the soul machine; it is the past in the form of a hologram. Instead of leaving the door open passively, Silk Sonic should invite listeners to enter.