ANDERSON PAAK レコード& CD

Review: The criticism of Anderson .Paak's last album, the glossy, big-budget "Oxnard", was so voluminous that his mum took to social media to defend it. The fast-rising rapper laughed off the haters at the time, but it must have hurt. Either way, he's changed direction again on "Ventura", a follow-up that's noticeably more refrained than its predecessor. Musically, what we're offered is stripped-back '70s soul and Prince style purple funk instrumentation fused with head-nodding hip-hop and R&B beats. Paak is lyrically on point throughout, eschewing some of his more sexually explicit lyrics in the post #MeToo era. To complete the picture of an artist going back to his roots, the assembled guests (Outkast's Andre 3000 included) are generally pushed to the background in an unobtrusive manner.

Review: When two top-billing talents like Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak team up, you know it's going to be the real deal. Their Silk Sonic project debuted last year with the singles 'Leave The Door Open', 'Skate' and 'Smokin Out The Window'. They've struck open a sweet spot which bridges the gap from classic 70s soul to modern RnB with impossibly smooth results. There's a little tongue in cheek humour slipped into the lyrics (and the slick-as-you-like music videos), but there's no joke when it comes to the songwriting chops from this pair of supremely talented soul boys. If you need any more validation, 'Leave The Door Open' won the Record Of The Year Grammy. That sums up the level these two are rolling at on their debut album, as if you needed convincing.