Unorthodox Jukebox — Bruno Mars

We’re going into a cool space with this one. Bruno Mars, one of the biggest singer, songwriters in the world. This guy is a beast. Unorthodox Jukebox is his 2nd album, following his first release Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Bruno most defiantly does not disappoint with this follow up.

This album feels like the 2012 era it was released in, but also has some great timeless joints on here as well. While he absolutely kills it when he’s in his Pop/R&B bag, he dances into some Classic R&B/Motown vibes and even a little bit of that 80s synth Pop. Each song is a killer example of how Bruno can take similar themes into completely different worlds, each with a fly grace.

The idea of this gorilla like character seems to be some sort of projection of self on this album. Maybe Bruno is trying to say that he is some sort of an animal or something. He’s mentioned in interview that he chose the title of the album as a way of sharing his creative process, how he approaches his music generally in unorthodox ways. I really like the imagery, the guy who is in the gorilla suit gets some credit which is sorta funny. I think the color of the paper, and that beautiful red font, both look incredible on this thicker matte paper they chose for the booklet. This paper gives the art a nice soft look.

Track one is a track named “Young Girls”. This sort of stadium anthem to these “young, wild girls” is a great tell for the audience, letting us all know exactly who this album is for and about. I love this era of hard hitting drums that these ballads are being belted over.

The final track of this album, “If I Knew”, is one of my favorite songs of this album. I think its such a fun timeless call back to such a soulful era of music and culture. Now, if I just showed you this song next to any of the singles or hits off this tape, you would never believe me saying they were on the same album haha! While the variety of sounds that Bruno is able to tap into is pretty cool to see in action, it can be a bit much in certain moments.

The project has me feeling like I am bouncing around a hotel and there is a new party happening in every room. Not too much to connect some of these tracks other than their chosen point of focus, these “young, wild girls” that seem to be haunting Bruno Mars.

I’m giving it a score of: 7.2/10

Stand Out Tracks: Treasure, When I Was Your Man, and If I Knew