Bruno Mars has been buzzing around the airwaves in various collaborative guises for so long that it seems somewhat surprising to realise that he has only just released his own solo effort. Following on from the success of lead singles ‘Just the Way You Are’ and ‘Grenade’, Doo-Wops and Hooligans was always going to attract a certain amount of hype. At the time of writing Mars is in possession of pole position in both the UK singles and albums charts. The question is: why all the fuss? Whilst Bruno isn’t in the business of redefining any far reaching musical boundaries he certainly knows his remit. Namely to produce undeniable melodies and infectious choruses which re-occur in the mind with such incredible frequency that one begins to wonder if he isn’t at the forefront of some kind of psychological research into subliminal suggestion. Compared to the singles most of the tracks on the album successfully hold their own with ‘Marry You’ and ‘Talking to the Moon’ both possessing the potential to be number ones in themselves and, although Mars seems to have deliberately kept the number of collaborations to a minimum, ‘The Other Side’, featuring Cee Lo Green and B.o.B, is also one of the album’s stand out tracks. Perhaps one of Doo-Wops and Hooligans‘ greatest strengths is in its variety. It features a mix of laid back soul (think Jason Mraz) and piano led balladry (think OneRepublic) whilst still retaining, Michael Jackson-esque, an overriding sense of pure pop. There is occasionally a slight tendency to descend into lyrical absurdity with the main culprits of this being ‘Somewhere in Brooklyn’ (while we were waitin’ started conversatin’) and ‘Count on Me’ (you can count on me like one, two, three). Despite this slight complaint it is difficult to get annoyed with Doo-Wops and Hooligans. It has a refreshingly upbeat attitude with enough sincere warmth to brighten even the coldest winter’s day. So whilst Bruno Mars’ debut is unlikely to go down in history as one of the all-time greats it is a skilfully polished package of stylish pop; and there is nothing wrong with that.
