I miss the Bruno Mars from my childhood.
Released on Feb. 27, Mars’ latest album, “The Romantic,” features almost exclusively ballads and instrumentally focused songs across its eight tracks. The album has a similar feel to Mars’ 2024 hit “Die With a Smile,” showcasing the same dramatic, rich vocals that have defined his recent music.
However, I would argue that Mars’ heavy reliance on instrumentation — trumpets, layered percussion, excessive guitar — diluted his previously raw storytelling, leaving much to be desired.
One possible cause for this overproduced feel could have been the album’s Latin influence. This is evident in his fourth track, “God Was Showing Off,” which opens with “Uno, dos, tres,” and in songs like “Cha Cha Cha” and “Something Serious,” which have syncopated percussion and overbearing trumpets. With such dense instrumentation, we lose the emotional storytelling that was so prevalent in his earlier music.
After all, it was never Mars’ lyrics that told the story — it was always his melodies. In his 2010 album “Doo Wops and Hooligans,” Mars could embed a tune so deeply into our minds that just reading the lyric “Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they’re not shining,” instantly summoned the melody to mind. Trying the same exercise with a line from “The Romantic” sadly does not yield the same result.
Still, it is important to recognize that “The Romantic” marks Mars’ first solo album in a decade. “Doo Wops and Hooligans” and “Unorthodox Jukebox,” the albums preceding “24K Magic,” were soulful and emotionally raw, with big hits like “Just the Way You Are” and “When I Was Your Man.” This last album of his, by contrast, featured more electronic production and high-energy funk, with hits such as “24K Magic” and “That’s What I Like.” Given Mars’ history of reinventing his music, this album may simply represent another genre he is exploring.
Nonetheless, as someone born in 2010, I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss Mars’ earlier music. The exposed, unfiltered “man and the piano” vibe in songs released the year I was born, such as “Talking to the Moon,” will always hold a special place in my heart. Thus, “The Romantic” evoked strong emotions in me, but for all the wrong reasons — it wasn’t the tracks that carried meaning, but rather hearing Mars lose the raw storytelling that made me fall in love with his music so long ago.
