Many on social media has deemed the year of 2026 the new 2016. Singer Bruno Mars goes along with this trend by revisiting solo music for the first time since 2016’s “24K Magic” with the release of his new album, “The Romantic.”
Mars’ sixth studio album released on Feb. 27, debuting at No. 1 on iTunes in the U.S. A nine-track album, “The Romantic” lasts 31 minutes and 30 seconds. Mars composed the album predominantly with producer D’Mile, whom he previously worked with on his 2021 collaborative studio album “An Evening with Silk Sonic” alongside rapper Anderson Paak.
Opening strongly with bright trumpets, smooth orchestral violins and soft guitar-plucking, the first track of the album, “Risk It All,” sets the tone right away. Mars recalls themes of his No. 1 hit “Grenade” from his debut studio album by vowing determination to do anything for his lover. The second verse introduces light percussive conga rhythms, bringing together the traditional Latin-influenced instrumental of this song. This song rightfully debuted at No. 2 on Spotify’s Global Top 50 with an infectious tune and sweet vocals.
Eminently known for the danceability of pop funk hits such as “That’s What I Like” and “Uptown Funk,” Mars does not disappoint with tracks two and three, “Cha Cha Cha” and “I Just Might.” The former song, containing an interpolation of 2003’s “Slow Motion” by rapper Juvenile, brings in dynamic background vocals, warm brass composition, rich percussive elements and soft electric guitar strums that create a magnetic, jazzy sound.
“I Just Might” employs more overtly electronic instrumentation with vibrant electric guitar and layered backing vocals paired with catchy vocalizations in the post-chorus, demonstrating good reason to have debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The next four tracks display Mars’ romantic devotion. Opening with a count-off in Spanish, “God Was Showing Off” makes allusions to heaven and angels to describe his lover’s perfection and beauty, utilizing elements of R&B such as soulful vocals and a mellow bassline. With a repeated refrain in the chorus, this song prioritizes an expressive melody over descriptive lyrics.
Mars demonstrates the peak of the R&B and soul genres in “Why You Wanna Fight” with lush chord progressions, syncopated drums, passionate vocals and a theme of longing. This record instantly captivates the listener by opening with a twangy electric guitar riff and provides a sweet mood throughout the rest of the song with delicate piano.
“On My Soul” is certainly a catchy and energetic track with smooth trumpets and clean electric guitar, but brings little to the album that can’t be heard in the other tracks, making it overlookable. At first, “Something Serious,” the following track, appears to be made of the same stuff with lackluster lyrics and melody, but transforms into one of the best songs of the album after the 45-second mark, culminating in an invigoratingly powerful crescendo that asserts Mars’ compositional prowess in the Latin soul and funk genres with highly rhythmic percussion, heartfelt vocals and energetic brass instrumentation.
The topic of track eight, “Nothing Left,” is a rarity for Mars, being a break-up song. While his 2010 hit “Talking To The Moon” expressed heartbreak through melancholy piano, “Nothing Left” has the same nostalgic, emotional vocals with more intensity in the drums and electric guitar, as well as additional layered backing vocals. Despite exploring an opposing theme to what Mars usually dives into, this song firmly demonstrates he can represent both the good and bad sides of love.
The closing track, “Dance With Me,” is the ideal model of a slow-dance song with themes of nostalgia and longing. It concludes the album fittingly with a sappy, melodic sound of slow percussion, warm guitar and crooning vocals, reflecting Mars’ popularization of ‘70s revivalism music with this album’s overall vintage soul aesthetics.
While “The Romantic” excels in its musical composition with some of the best production to be heard from any record released in the past six months, the biggest criticism of the album concerns Mars’ simplistic, direct and sometimes cliché lyrics with low variation in the subjects they express, almost always of passionate romance or upbeat celebration of love through dancing, reflecting poorly on the music as a whole by making it occasionally feel repetitive.
On the other hand, Mars demonstrates one of the best male tenor voices in the industry, consistently leaving the listener in awe at his impeccable clarity, flexibility and power that generates the ultimate depth and soulfulness. While the song topics and overall sound of the record exhibit little change, there’s not much harm in simply playing to one’s strengths, which Mars does exceptionally well.
Altogether, Mars releases an exemplary album with minor flaws that hardly take away from how utterly enjoyable it is, reaffirming himself as one of the greatest and most iconic artists of the 21st century.
Rating:
Production – 2 out of 2 stars
Lyrics – 0 out of 1 star
Track cohesion – 1 out of 1 star
Replay value – 1 out of 1 star
Total – 4 out of 5 stars
