As we crossed into the new year two months ago, a non-negligible group of music stars also crossed over into a dubious category of distinction: 10 whole years gone by without a solo album.

Of those artists – all of whom have managed to maintain various degrees of cultural relevancy throughout their long LP droughts – who was most likely to decide that 10 years was enough and return with a new record for the first time since 2016? It was a fair topic of conversation – let’s see how they stack up.

A Tribe Called Quest? No way. Not without Phife Dawg.

Britney Spears? She has seemed pretty emphatic to the contrary.

Rihanna? Well, if a Super Bowl Halftime Show couldn’t conjure a new record out of her, what could, exactly?

Frank Ocean? Two words: Coachella 2023. Another two words: career suicide.

But Bruno Mars? Well, all considered, he might have been the one most worthy of stacking your chips up alongside. Even though it’s been close to a decade since 24K Magic, Mr. Mars has stayed young, healthy and handsome throughout that lengthy interim, all while keeping the hits and sold-out shows coming strong. That has only picked up the last couple of years, as he’s scored another pair of standalone smashes – “APT.” with Rosé and “Die With a Smile” with Lady Gaga – and steered his Las Vegas residency to a triumphant, sold-out conclusion. With all of this flurry of activity, the proverbial stage seemed set for Mars to formally re-enter the arena with a brand new solo album.

Bruno Mars 'The Romantic' © John V. Esparza — Bruno Mars ‘The Romantic’ © John V. Esparza

The Romantic - Bruno Mars — The Romantic – Bruno Mars

**And here it is: The Romantic, released on February 27th.**

The album sticks relatively close to the template of his predecessors (among the most immediate signs of that: Bruno’s penchant for having his albums be roughly 9-10 tracks and 30-35 minutes long continues), and that’s perfectly fine. The album is as likable, well-sung and dancehall-ready as all of the other records of his the world fell in love with throughout the 2010’s.

A caveat on that last part, though: The dancing that The Romantic will most readily inspire is more akin to the slow-dance style than all of the wild raves that “Uptown Funk” and “24K Magic” have been generating for over a decade and counting. The first couple of songs, “Risk It All” and “Cha Cha Cha,” encapsulate that much, with their acoustic and Latin-influenced soundscapes blaring at full force while the leading man unleashes directives such as “Move your body right here, just a little closer next to mine,” all while assuring that “Girl, the dancefloor is yours and you’re lookin’ ready to set it on fire.”

Once the prevailing mood for the album has been set, it largely stays that way from thereon – on through the final track, “Dance With Me,” on which Bruno invites the gals to slide alongside him at a gentle pace. “Will you dance with me, darling?” he asks. “Take my hand and let’s just slow dance all night.” It’s largely a summary of what he’s been aiming for throughout the course of The Romantic, and there’s some logic to asking it one last time in the record’s final moments – like the ribbon that ties the whole package together.

Rest assured, there are plenty more upbeat moments as well. Songs like “On My Soul,” “Something Serious,” and the chart-topping lead single, “I Just Might,” represent Peter Hernandez in fun-loving mode, channeling disco and funk with tremendous glee that’s easy to latch onto. When this version of Sir Bruno instructs the ladies to “Put some spirit in it, put your heart into it… you better show me now,” it’s clear that all of that slow-dance stuff can wait until later: it’s time to “dance, jump on, if you sexy, then flaunt it!”

On The Romantic, he’s mostly having a grand old time and inviting us along to join him. The handful of teary-eyed exceptions – the “When I Was Your Man”s of this album, if you will – come in the form of tracks like “Nothing Left” and “Why You Wanna Fight.” On those songs, poor Bruno is deprived of the romance he’s either secured or is actively pursuing otherwise. “The fire don’t burn like it used to, girl,” he sings in these moments. “The smile on your face that I used to make is long gone, and it kills me to think somewhere I lost my baby.” The emotional pain and vulnerability is sincere and provides a worthy counterbalance to the more free-spirited content found elsewhere on the album.

**Does anything on The Romantic represent radically new lyrical terrain for Bruno Mars?**

Not really. Plenty of moments here evoke his past work. “Risk It All,” for instance, tosses in a wink to Doo Wops & Hooligans’ “Talkin’ To The Moon” as Bruno tells his dame, “Say you want the moon? Watch me learn to fly.” Then come other, perhaps less intentional references to the same album’s classic single, “Grenade,” with Mars elaborating on how he really would “do anything for ya” – “I would run through a fire just to be by your side… I’ll do anything, anything you ask me to” (But would she do the same?)

The primary thematic takeaway from The Romantic is that Bruno is a friendly guy with a heart full of love ready to spill it out to the ladies. This much should come to a surprise to exactly nobody. One, look at one the album’s called. And two, look at who the singer who made it is.

Anyone (if there is anyone) looking to see Bruno Mars exhibit tremendous artistic and lyrical growth will just have to wait until his next album comes around – and hopefully it won’t take 10 years this time!

But anyone looking to hear Bruno Mars deliver another half hour of solid fun and enjoyment the way he’s done three times prior – four, if you count his 2021 joint project with Anderson .Paak, An Evening with Silk Sonic – can rest assured that they will remain in capable hands this time around. Set your expectations accordingly, and The Romantic will prove to be a comeback project worth waiting for.

As for Britney, RiRi, Frank and all the others… the waiting game will just have to go on…

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