Bruno Mars is my estranged lover. After falling in love with his music when I was younger, I’ve been waiting years for his return, eager to fall in love all over again.
When Mars announced “The Romantic” after a decade-long absence from album writing, I was ecstatic. Yet, when it finally released on Feb. 27, I was left heartbroken, mourning the lost spark that had ignited my love for his music.
“The Romantic” is a lackluster return for Mars. Although the album has strong Latino influences and stand-out tracks, its generic sound, coupled with unsuccessful attempts to replicate his most popular songs, takes the life out of “The Romantic.”
My main issue with the album is how boring it sounds at multiple points. Songs like “God Was Showing Off” have a rhythm that reminds me of elevator music, slow songs like “Why You Wanna Fight?” leave me waiting for the track to end.
While Mars is unmatched when it comes to writing love songs, “The Romantic” is Mars’s fifth studio album, and his songwriting has still not grown beyond the genre.
It’s not like Mars is incapable of writing non-romantic songs. “The Lazy Song” from his very first album is one of his most popular songs, and it’s about him wanting to bum out for an entire day. Yet, he inexplicably chooses not to for “The Romantic,” creating music that touches on the same tired themes of heartbreak and love his past four albums already cover.
Beyond repeating romantic themes, the album sounds like Mars is attempting to recreate what made him successful in the past, rather than daring to do anything new. Even listening to the album’s standout hits leaves me with an uncanny sense of deja vu and a feeling that Mars has lost his passion for music-making.
While flawed, “The Romantic” has high points that need praise. From the electric salsa in “Cha Cha Cha” to flowy flamenco in “Something Serious,” Mars swaps out his electric guitar and drumset for the guitarrone and bongos.
His new cultural influences make his music more instrumental, humble and homemade. Through embracing his Latino heritage, Mars has created an album that reminds us of its cultural beauty.
“The Romantic” also has several songs that manage to capture Mars’s signature flow without recycling tired tropes and instrumentals. Mars has two hallmark styles: his vibrant, fast-paced tunes that get people dancing, and his slow, somber songs that add emotional weight and reality to his albums.
He has always stood out to me for his mastery of these competing styles, and I was glad to hear both again on “The Romantic.”
“On My Soul” stands out with upbeat, electric instrumentals and catchy modern lyrics that remind me of Mars’s previous hits like “Runaway Baby.” Likewise, “Nothing Left” is a slow-paced ballad about falling out of love, filled with Mars’s signature, heartbreaking vibrato. These two songs excelled at instilling the same excitement that Mars’s best music has given me, yet they alone could not fill the gaping flaws of the album.
“The Romantic” sounds like Mars wrote it solely for the paycheck, almost methodically checking off boxes. The result is disappointment.
I fell in love with Mars’s music because it had a sound no other artist could capture. But I’ve been left heartbroken, knowing the spark that made me fall in love with him may be fading before my very eyes.
