While some of my fellow girlies are walking down the street wearing cozy oversized sweaters and holding in tears with Red (Taylor’s Version) on full-blast, I’ll be strutting around campus with the musical cure for sad girl fall — An Evening With Silk Sonic.
That’s right. For me, it’s not sad girl fall; it’s groovy girlie autumn. And I’m encouraging you to throw on a pair of bell bottom jeans and join me.
The members of the Silk Sonic power duo, Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars, made waves earlier this year with the smooth, sexy single “Leave the Door Open,” which garnered millions of streams on Spotify and Apple Music, along with inspiring a few viral TikTok trends that ruled the summer.
And after waiting since the release of their second single “Skate” in July, my two man-crushes finally blessed my ears with 30 minutes of groovin’, croonin’, and vibin’ in the R&B/soul, funk-pop genre.
Friday, November 12 was a musical paradox at its finest. The same night Taylor Swift dropped her long anticipated rerelease of the breakup anthem-filled album, Red (Taylor’s Version) was also the release date for Paak and Mars’s ’70s-inspired project: An Evening With Silk Sonic. Featuring the smooth, retro-sounding, babymakin’ tunes of some of the industry’s flyest (and finest) men, this album is — in a word — hot.
So hot, that you’ll forget about that ex you know all too well (see what I did there?). From the first track, “Silk Sonic Intro,” Silk Sonic woos you with their groovy beats and enthusiasm as Paak and Mars ask you, “Who gon’ get the ladies feeling something?” The song is the perfect intro to the funkadelic album that’ll have you replying, “Respectfully, both of you got me feelin’ something right about now.”
Aside from the viral hits “Leave the Door Open” and “Skate,” Silk Sonic introduces us to bops such as “777” and “Fly as Me” that’ll have you ditching your ex’s oversized hoodie for the hottest outfit the weather permits. The joyful, luxurious vibes will have you nostalgic for an era that you weren’t even alive for, full of all the warm tones, ’70s glitz, and psychedelic patterns your heart desires.
The album has its more sensual bops, too. “After Last Night,” featuring the ever-so-groovy Thundercat and Bootsy Collins, is the sex music of dreams. Filled with that R&B Motown soul, the song is a nod to the power of punani and admiration of female sexual empowerment. With lyrics like “You put it on me like I never felt before / That gushy gushy good, girl, I want some more / Sweet, sticky, thick and pretty / You changed the game,” this song gets you in the mood to wipe those tears away and treat yourself to a little bit of you-time (*wink*).
And for those of us who are still mad about our ex, don’t worry: “Smokin Out The Window” is Silk Sonic’s groovy take on a scorned breakup song. As Paak sings, “Baby, why you doin’ this? Why you doin’ this to me, girl? / Not to be dramatic, but I wanna die” about an ex-lover who cheats on and takes from him, we have no choice but to relate as Mars dives into the bridge with the now-viral TikTok sound bite, “this b*tch.”
Same, Bruno.
With the emotional storm cloud of Adele’s newest album, 30, looming, now is the perfect time to get out of the funk that is sad girl fall, and into the funk that is Silk Sonic. Who’s ready to groove this autumn?!