Review: Fly As Me – Silk Sonic
- by Nicholas Gaudet
- in Reviews
Silk Sonic have delivered one of the funkiest tracks of the year, as part of their new LP ‘An Evening With Silk Sonic’, titled ‘Fly As Me’, showcasing an array of talents from the two songwriters Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars.
‘Fly As Me’ is the first song on the record that’ll sound unfamiliar to fans that have been following the group prior to the album’s release, as it’s preceded by previously-released ‘Silk Sonic Intro’ and ‘Leave the Door Open’. Right off the bat, the groovy electric guitar riff that opens the song will make you bob your head. The chromatic build-up is similar to both old school funk and the new-school approach of guitarists like Cory Wong. In fact, the entire song has this very blatant blend of styles, which sets it a bit apart from the previously released singles. While the others songs sound straight from the late-sixties and early-seventies, ‘Fly As Me’ is grounded in old-school funk akin to James Brown and Earth Wind and Fire, but penciled in modern songwriting techniques, such as the rap verses, expertly performed by Anderson .Paak. His flow is beyond stellar, especially in the second verse where he speeds up in triplets and slows back down to the normal rhythm. The way he traverses words is so wonderfully done it sounds easy, which is the true product of any talented musician. The grooves he lays down on the track is on the same level as the rest of his discography, and the other Silk Sonic tracks; it’s magical, groovy, and nasty. The pre-chorus is where things get much more retro, with Bruno and Anderson coming together in harmony to lead up to the extremely catchy chorus. There’s a few classic James-Brown-esque screams performed by Mars that perfectly channel his energy, though he’s already shown these colors in songs such as ‘Perm’ off his 2016 album ‘24k Magic’, which was an obvious love-letter to the funk legend.
‘Fly As Me’ has to be one of, if not THE grooviest song to be released in 2021. It’s another wonderful showcase of the brilliance that spawns from the creative minds of both Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars. Its venture into both retro themes and future ideas are masterfully executed, making this track a worthy follow-up to the most pristine single of the year ‘Leave The Door Open’.
