After a decade of non-silence, made up of expectations, famous collaborations and record numbers, Bruno Mars returns with “The Romantic“a record that delimits its sentimental territory right from the start.
We start with Risk It All. Imagine a dinner by the sea, the moon as a backdrop, the object of desire sitting in front of you. Then the mariachis enter, solemnly, to seal the promise. It is a declared, almost theatrical romanticism, which prepares the ground for Cha Cha Chabetween velvety horns and soulful pulsation. The image is clear: choreographed conquest, inevitable embrace, dancing in the moonlight.
This is the mood of “The Romantic”. The hyper-lucid funk of “24K Magic” is set aside; here we retreat towards sumptuously arranged ballads and harmonies that seem to have re-emerged from a forgotten 45 rpm record. Mars sings with measure, as if he had finally found a framework capable of containing his histrionics without mortifying him.
After the energy of I Just Might, built on a seductive condition, if you dance as you appear maybe I'll take you away with me, it arrives God Was Showing Off. Here the woman becomes a miracle, almost a private divinity. The writing borders on emphasis but finds an interesting twist right there. The adoration is sincere and at the same time pleased. The doubt remains suspended and is one of the highlights of the album.
The change of pace coincides with the crack in the mask. Why You Wanna Fight? it is soft, enveloping soul; Mars admits guilt but does not limit it. On My Soul and Something Serious they slide super soulfully, with an almost Earth Wind and Fire-like attitude the first and a touch of Santana the second, towards an idealized domesticity.
Stability, children, team promise. The images are elegant but generic. We don't know what happened, or how to love on any given day. Writing remains protected. It is the structural limit of “The Romantic”.
Nothing Left cracks the velvet. Love is not enough, the house is empty, the magic evaporates. For the first time, Mars asks instead of offering. Dance with Me ends in suspension, pride against pride, a last dance as an attempt at rewriting. No triumph, just waiting.
As the fourth solo chapter, “The Romantic” is short, smooth, coherent. Mars and D'Mile chisel nine tracks without technical flaws. The voice remains one of the most reliable instruments of contemporary pop. The immersion in Chicano soul is credible, almost philological. What is missing is a narrative fracture capable of transforming expertise into urgency.
At forty, Mars proves he can inhabit oldies soul with the same ease with which he crossed funk and new jack swing. It is perhaps his most compact work. Not the riskiest.
“The Romantic” convinces by coherence, seduces by profession, leaves a shadow of emotional incompleteness. And that woman, in the last track, still doesn't respond.
SCORE: 7.50
TO LISTEN NOW
Cha Cha Cha – God Was Showing Off – Why You Wanna Fight? – Dance with Me
TO BE SKIPPED IMMEDIATELY
Half an hour is a limit but also an added value for listening to the album in its entirety without having cravings to skip!
